David Laws faces a seven day suspension from the House of Commons over misuse of his parliamentary expenses.
The Lib Dem MP resigned from the cabinet in May soon after taking the position of chief secretary to the Treasury after he was discovered to have claimed to rent accommodation from his partner, breaking Commons rules.
Laws said his actions were motivated by his desire to keep his sexuality secret rather than to profit financially.
He reported himself to the Commons parliamentary commissioner for standards who, while sympathetic, concluded that Laws should have either been honest about his living arrangements or not claimed any money at all.
Sir John Lyon said :"I have no evidence that Mr Laws made his claims with the intention of benefiting himself or his partner in conscious breach of the rules. But the sums of money involved were substantial."
He added: "Mr Laws’ wish to maintain his personal privacy cannot, in my view, justify—although it may explain—such conduct".
Laws has already paid back £56,592 worth of expenses.
In a report published today the Commons standards and privileges committee concluded that while his behaviour since his resignation from the cabinet in May 2010 had been "exemplary" his breach of the rules meant he should be punished.
"Whatever his motives and subsequent behaviour, Mr Laws was guilty of a series of serious breaches of the rules, over a considerable time," it said.
"We recommend that Mr Laws should be suspended from the service of the House for a period of seven sitting days"
The suspension will begin on June 7 when the Commons returns from recess assuming MPs approve the committee's recommendation on Monday.
In a statement Laws said he accepted the conclusions of the inquiry and took "full responsibility" for his mistakes.
He said: "I apologise to my constituents and to Parliament. Each of us should be our own sternest critic, and I recognise that my attempts to keep my personal life private were in conflict with my duty as an MP to ensure that my claims were in every sense above reproach.
"I should have resolved this dilemma in the public interest and not in the interests of my privacy.
"However, from the moment these matters became public, I have made clear that my motivation was to protect my privacy, rather than to benefit from the system of parliamentary expenses, and I am pleased that the Commissioner has upheld that view.
"I have also, from the very beginning, made clear that I believed that my secrecy about my private life led me to make lower overall claims than would otherwise be the case, and this has been confirmed by the Parliamentary Commissioner and by the committee.
He added: "The taxpayer gained, rather than lost out, from my desire for secrecy, though I fully accept that this is not an adequate reason for breaking the rules.
In a statement to the Commons this afternoon Laws said he apologised and said he took "complete and personal responsibility".
He said: "If by my actions I have contributed in any way to further undermining the reputation of this House I can only apologise without reservation."
Many MPs are sympathetic towards Laws and both David Cameron and Nick Clegg had been keen to see him return to the cabinet as soon as possible.
He was well regarded by his Conservative coalition colleagues and impressed them with the way he appeared immediately at ease at the Despatch Box.
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