Jacqui Smith defends expense claims | Politics | The Guardian Jacqui Smith Jacqui Smith defends expense claims Home secretary says inadvertently claiming for two pornographic films was an 'embarrassing mistake' but it should not override 'good work' she has been doing Home secretary Jacqui Smith leaves her south London home. Photograph: Carl Court/AP Tuesday 7 April 2009 04.56 EDT First published on Tuesday 7 April 2009 04.56 EDT Close This article is 7 years old Jacqui Smith today defended her controversial parliamentary expenses and explained why she had not offered to resign as home secretary despite inadvertently claiming for two pornographic films. Smith said that submitting the claims for the films was a "bad mistake" and an "embarrassing mistake", but it did not override the "good work" she was doing as a minister. She also defended her decision to use the parliamentary second-home allowance to claim for costs associated with her family home in her Redditch constituency, saying that MPs needed to be able to live in two places.

In an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the home secretary said that she had not contemplated resignation despite the controversy about the claim for the two films, which were watched when her husband was at the family home. "I did not believe that, having apologised and having paid back the money, that it was a mistake that did override what I hope has been the good work that I have been doing," she said. "One of the things that's important to me is that I feel able to look people in the eye and say that I'm doing that work, that I've made a mistake but I have apologised for it and put it right, but actually now my priority is to get on with the work as home secretary and doing the best job possible for my constituents." Smith, who is allowed to use the second-home allowance to pay for her family home in Redditch because she designates the house she shares with her sister in London as her main home when claiming parliamentary allowances, said that some of the reporting about her arrangements had been inaccurate. "I do not live in my sister's spare room," she said. "We share a house. We share the expenses of that house. We eat together. We live together in that house.

I'm not in some box room at the top of the house." Smith said that MPs needed the second-home allowance because they needed to be able to live in two places. "I have to furnish two houses; that's the point. When you are an MP, you have to live in two different places. What you are receiving the allowance for is the additional cost of having to furnish a different house in order to enable you to be able to do your job." As well as details about the claim for two pornographic films, information about many of the other items claimed by Smith using the second-home allowance has been leaked to the press. She is said to have claimed for a vast range of items, including a bath plug costing 88p. In a separate interview this morning on GMTV, Smith suggested that some of this information could be misleading because items listed on the receipts obtained by the press were not all necessarily the subject of expense claims. "When you put in a claim and you put in a receipt on which there are a number of items, obviously people can pick out one of them and say, 'Why did you claim for that?' but that is because you put in the whole of the receipt," she said.

Asked whether it was fair for taxpayers to fund the cost of a flatscreen TV, scatter cushions at her Redditch home, a toothbrush holder and a bath plug, she replied: "I have always tried to claim those things that I think are fair and reasonable as expenses for having to live in two places." According to the leaked receipts, Smith has filed claims with the Commons authorities for around £150,000 towards the Redditch property since 2001. The cash reportedly went on kitting out all parts of the house, including a £550 stone sink and console for the kitchen, £568.95 on two washing machines, and £119.99 on a Vax carpet cleaner. In the bathroom, £405.37 reportedly went on plumbing, nearly £500 on a shower mixer, and 88p on a bath plug. Smith's living room also apparently benefited from a £1,000 fireplace, a 32-inch flatscreen TV costing £369.99 and a £575 armchair.

The bill also featured £511.20 for a sofabed, £72 on four scatter cushions, and £110 on bed linen. Thousands of pounds more was reportedly spent on general maintenance, including £1,370 on decorators, over £1,200 on electrical work, and £409 for carpenters to fix the front, back and toilet doors. Cleaners are said to have cost the taxpayer more than £2,000 a year, and mortgage interest over £11,000 a year. MPs are permitted to claim a maximum of around £23,000 for the second-home allowance, also known as the additional costs allowance (ACA), which covers the cost of staying away from their main residence to carry out parliamentary duties. ACA is used to cover the cost of running and furnishing a property, as well as rent or mortgage interest payments.

MPs' expenses: from bath plugs and oven gloves to overpaid assistants | Politics | The Guardian MPs' expenses: from bath plugs and oven gloves to overpaid assistants Helen Pidd and Helia Phoenix Tuesday 21 April 2009 19.01 EDT First published on Tuesday 21 April 2009 19.01 EDT Close This article is 7 years old How many times in a year is it necessary - or indeed socially acceptable - to have one's windows cleaned? Stevenage MP Barbara Follett, the wife of the millionaire novelist Ken Follett, perhaps crossed the line in 2003-04, when she called in the window cleaners an astonishing 18 times. Each visit to her London home cost £94. Another MP whose clean-freakery has been funded by the taxpayer is Gordon Brown , who when chancellor spent almost £5,000 in 11 months on a cleaner for his London flat. He also racked up £1,906 of dry-cleaning expenses - which amounted to about £500 for each three-month period.

That's the equivalent of about 40 suits, a lot for even a legendarily messy politician. Other questionable extravagances which came to light last year, when the full expenses claims of 14 high-profile MPs were made public, included the installation in 2003-04 of what must have been Hartlepool's fanciest shower. It was luxuriated in by - who else? - Peter Mandelson , then a cabinet minister. It cost almost £3,000, though Mandelson later said this figure represented general upgrades to his bathroom. Other bourgeois accessories funded by the taxpayer included the £1,079 Tony Blair spent in 2002 on fitting a mantel shelf to his Aga cooker, part of a £10,000 refit of the kitchen at his constituency home in County Durham. Around the same time, Brown failed to dispel the stereotype of the miserly Scotsman by claiming £32 for lightbulbs. Meanwhile, poor old Mark Oaten, who quit the Liberal Democrat frontbench after a sex scandal, was widely mocked after he was revealed to have claimed £5 for a pair of oven gloves.

Oaten also claimed £159.95 for a bunk bed. Margaret Beckett, meanwhile, successfully claimed £190 to rebuild a rockery in the garden of her constituency home in Derby in 2003-04, but the £600 she tried to claim for plants and a pergola was refused by the Commons authorities. Recently, leaked documents showed that Jacqui Smith had claimed for a barbecue, patio heater, toothbrush holder, 88p bath plug and even the proverbial kitchen sink (cost: £500). All were for the home secretary's second home in Redditch, Worcestershire, which is itself at the centre of another expenses row, after claims that she actually uses it as her primary residence. Last month Caroline Spelman, the shadow communities secretary, was ordered to repay £9,600 for overpaying her assistant, who was working as a nanny and a parliamentary administrator. More curious was the case of Ann Keen, the Labour health minister, who, it emerged, had insured her 70-year-old husband's life for £430,000 - and claimed the £867 monthly premiums on parliamentary expenses.

Keen took out a joint HSBC "first death" policy with her husband Alan, also a Labour MP, which meant if one of them died the other would get the payout. There have been many other familial controversies surrounding expenses. Most recently, Smith's husband admitted claiming for two porn films, and last year, it emerged that the wife of Michael Martin, the House of Commons Speaker, had notched up over £4,000 in taxi bills for shopping trips since 2004. But most notorious is the case of the Conway family. The former Tory MP Derek Conway was forced to repay £14,000 earlier this year after he was found to have overpaid his two student sons as researchers, despite the pair - Frederick and Henry - doing little or no work while on the payroll. And let's not forget the case of two Tory MPs, Sir Nicholas and Lady Ann Winterton, who, a parliamentary watchdog ruled last year, "unequivocally" broke the rules when they claimed back tens of thousands of pounds in rent for a flat they in effect owned outright.

Jacqui Smith: ex Home Secretary to present BBC Radio porn documentary - Telegraph BBC Jacqui Smith: ex Home Secretary to present BBC Radio porn documentary Jacqui Smith, the former Home Secretary who claimed on expenses for two adult films that her husband had watched, is to present a BBC documentary about pornography. Image 1 of 4 Jacqui Smith and her husband Richard Timney were involved in the scandal over MPs expenses Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 4 Jacqui Smith and husband Richard Timney at Redditch after her election victory in 1997 Photo: NEWSTEAM Image 1 of 4 Former home secretary Jacqui Smith speaks at her constituency count in Redditch after losing her seat in the General Election 2010. Photo: PA Image 1 of 4 (left to right) Health Secretary Alan Johnson, Chancellor Alistair Darling and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith during a cabinet meeting at Downing Street, ahead the 2008 PBR. Photo: PA Follow The former MP, who lost her Redditch seat she had held since 1997 at the last general election, will front the radio documentary that will offer a real-life insight into the porn industry.

In her BBC Radio 5 documentary Miss Smith, who became one of the highest profile losers on general election night as the public made her pay for the scandals involving her expenses, will interview porn stars and film-makers. The hour-long documentary, entitled, "Porn Again", will also include contributions from other politicians and feminist thinkers and investigate whether porn is too widely accessible. "As I know from my personal experience, porn fascinates us – media and public alike," the 48 year-old former schoolteacher said in a statement on Friday. "But we actually know very little about what it's like to work in the industry and what porn is doing to our society, our children and our relationships. Related Articles MPs’ Expenses: second home claims fall £2m 24 Jun 2010 "In making this programme, I've been able to challenge my own views and attitudes and I want others to have the chance to join the debate too." The BBC said the programme would allow her to question her own opinions and experience throughout and will consider whether pornography damages the men and women who make it and watch it.

One of the original “Blair Babes”, Miss Smith’s rose to fame in 2007 when she became the UK’s first female Home Secretary She lost the Redditch seat she had held since 1997, beaten by her long-time political rival, the Conservatives' Karen Lumley. The defeat capped a remarkable fall from grace for Labour's Miss Smith, who this time last year held one of the most senior roles in Government before becoming embroiled in controversy over her expenses claims. The series of expenses scandals started in 2009, when it emerged that she nominated a bedroom in her sister’s house in London as her main home, allowing her to claim £116,000 parliamentary allowances on her constituency home in Redditch, where she lives with her husband, Richard Timney, and two children. It was then disclosed that she had claimed back from taxpayers the cost of adult films watched by Mr Timney. Her parliamentary expenses showed she had claimed an 88p bath plug, barbecue, plants and an outdoor patio heater for her “second home”, along with a television, washing machine, video recorder, a towel and a toothbrush holder.

She stepped down as Home Secretary in June, 2009 and in October was forced to apologise to MPs following devastating criticism from the Commons watchdog over her expenses. Mr Timney had earlier been unmasked as the writer of a series of letters to a local newspaper attacking the Conservatives, and Michael Howard in particular, and supporting the work that Miss Smith was doing – without disclosing that he was in fact her husband and her paid Commons adviser. The Daily Telegraph disclosed last October that Miss Smith has secured lucrative work since leaving Parliament including at KPMG management consultants, which won lucrative contracts when she was Home Secretary. She is also an adviser to Sarina Russo Job Access, a company run by a friend of Tony and Cherie Blair. Her new documentary airs on March 3. Smith vows to repay taxpayer for blue movies | The Independent Sunday 29 March 2009 23:00 BST Click to follow Indy Politics The husband of Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, made a shame-faced public apology to his wife yesterday – but not to the taxpayer – for claiming the cost of watching two pornographic films on parliamentary expenses.

Downing Street led a desperate attempt to protect Ms Smith, already facing a parliamentary inquiry over her housing claims, from speculation about her survival as Home Secretary. Cabinet ministers rallied around her in the face of calls from opposition MPs for her to consider resigning. Ms Smith now has to cope with a toxic combination of anger over her expenses claims and the humiliating disclosure of her husband's taste in television. Friends said she was "mortified and furious" over the disclosure that a £67 claim for television expenses included the cost of viewing two 18-rated movie sessions. They said the Home Secretary, who promised to pay the money back, has no intention of resigning. The films were viewed by her husband, Richard Timney, when Ms Smith was away from their home in Redditch, Worcestershire. He is paid £40,000 a year from the public purse to run his wife's constituency office. In a brief 22-second statement outside the house yesterday, Mr Timney said: "I am really sorry for any embarrassment I have caused Jacqui. I can fully understand why people might be angry and offended by this.

Quite obviously, a claim should never have been made for these films, and as you know that money is being paid back." The episode is particularly embarrassing to Ms Smith, the first female Home Secretary, as she is leading moves to strengthen legislation on the sex industry by bringing in tougher licensing rules for lap-dancing clubs. The charge for ordering each of the adult film channel nightly subscriptions was £5. The leaked bill disclosed that an 18-rated "additional feature" was viewed at 11.18pm on 1 April last year and another at 11.19pm on 6 April. It also showed that the George Clooney crime caper Ocean's 13 was viewed on two consecutive evenings, at £3.75 each time, as well as the computer-animated film Surf's Up. The claims would have been prepared by Mr Timney in his function as her office manager, but would have been countersigned by her. Ms Smith said yesterday: "I am sorry that in claiming for my internet connection, I mistakenly claimed for a television package alongside it. "As soon as the matter was brought to my attention, I took immediate steps to contact the relevant parliamentary authorities and rectify the situation.

All money claimed for the television package will be paid back in full." Aides hope the rapid action, and Mr Timney's public apology to his wife, will help win her sympathy. A Downing Street spokesman said: "Jacqui Smith has done the right thing by taking steps to rectify this inadvertent mistake as soon as she became aware of it. She is doing a great job as Home Secretary and will not let this issue detract from her determination to ensure we protect the public and make our neighbourhoods safer." David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, refused to be drawn on the row, but stressed: "What I am absolutely confident of is that Jacqui Smith is doing an outstanding job as the Home Secretary with some of the toughest responsibilities in government." But Philip Davies, a Tory MP, said: "It is surely not legitimate to use Commons second-home allowances to buy blue movies. If this is true, I cannot see how she can survive." Angus Robertson, the Scottish National Party's leader at Westminster, said there were "real questions" over her future as Home Secretary as her credibility was "in tatters".

He said: "These are serious allegations and only add to the impression that Labour is becoming engulfed in expenses sleaze." Liberal Democrat MP Lembit Opik said: "This is immensely embarrassing for Jacqui on a personal and domestic level. I haven't got any particular issue about what they watch in their own time. I do have an issue about the fact that he has compromised her." The leak of Ms Smith's parliamentary expenses contained a wealth of detail that will fuel claims that MPs are milking the system to furnish second homes. Ms Smith has designated her Redditch property, where Mr Timney and their two sons live, as her second home, entitling her to claim allowances for it. She has claimed more than £150,000 for the cost of running the home over the past five years. The cash covers not just utility bills and council tax, but also furniture and fittings. She claimed £1,000 for an antique fireplace, £704 for a sofabed and £460 for a table. The kitchen was kitted out with a £399 Hotpoint cooker, a Hotpoint tumble dryer at £189 and two washing machines.

Ms Smith, who earns £141,866 a year as a cabinet minister, even claimed 88p for a bath plug. Ms Smith insists her main home is her sister's house in south London where she stays during the week. She said the Commons authorities had approved the arrangements. John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, is investigating her claims. Last week a former home secretary, Charles Clarke, said her case regarding housing expenses looked "terrible". More about: BBC - Newsbeat - The P Word - Smith claims for porn on expenses Smith claims for porn on expenses By Dave Howard Advertisement Jacqui Smith was surrounded by press and photographers as she left her London home Jacqui Smith has hit the headlines again, this time over revelations that she claimed expenses for two porn movies which her husband watched. While the home secretary was at work, her other half ordered two pay-per-view adult films to watch at their Worcestershire home. It's not illegal and it probably wouldn't even have come to light - except for the fact that the home secretary claimed for the films on her parliamentary expenses. The money for MPs expenses comes out of our taxes.

She says it was a mistake and that she believed she was claiming for the cost of her internet access. 'Really sorry' Her husband, whose name is Richard, has made a sheepish apology. He told reporters: "I am really sorry for any embarrassment I have caused Jacqui. I can fully understand why people might be angry and offended by this." The couple are paying the money back, as well as the cost of other pay-per-view films, like the George Clooney movie Oceans 13 and a cartoon feature called Surf's Up. This is very much a personal matter for Jacqui. Her husband has made it clear that he has apologised Prime Minister Gordon Brown There'll probably also be some awkward discussions between husband and wife. People close to the pair have described her as "livid" and "mortified" about the whole affair. The porn films cost £5 each and the whole TV package won't come to more than £100 but it's got a lot of people talking. There have even been calls for the home secretary to resign but Gordon Brown's still supporting her.

Other expenses "This is very much a personal matter for Jacqui," he said, adding: "Her husband has made it clear that he has apologised." What makes this worse for Jacqui Smith is that she was already facing an expenses row after complaints about her claiming thousands of pounds in second home allowances, even though she lives with her sister as a lodger. Other expense claims were for fixtures and fittings like a cooker, a widescreen TV and even a bath plug costing 88p. She says she's working within the expenses system and she's done nothing wrong but this new row ratchets up pressure that was already in place. The worry now is that she's becoming better known for her personal finances than for her work tackling crime or terror. Bookmark with: WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Jacqui Smith put adult films on expenses | UK | News | Daily Express UK WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Jacqui Smith put adult films on expenses JACQUI SMITH has claimed Commons expenses, paid by the taxpayer, for the cost of watching adult films at her family home.

00:00, Sun, Mar 29, 2009 Jacqui Smith is said to be ‘furious’ at her husband for paying to watch two X-rated films The Home Secretary, already embroiled in an expenses row, submitted the bill as part of a £67 claim for television services in June last year. As she fought for her political life last night, Ms Smith apologised after being confronted by the Sunday Express. She promised to repay the money. In a statement she said: “I am sorry that in claiming for my internet connection, I mistakenly claimed for a television package alongside it. “As soon as the matter was brought to my attention, I took immediate steps to contact the relevant parliamentary authorities and rectify the situation. All money claimed for the television package will be paid back in full.” A source close to Ms Smith, 46, said last night that she had not been at the family home in Redditch, Worcestershire, on April 1 and April 6 last year when the adult films were viewed.

The source said she was “furious” with her husband, adding: “She was not watching these fi lms, has never watched them and is horrified that this would end up anywhere near a taxpayer-related claim.” An itemised receipt submitted to the Commons confirms the Virgin Media bill included two 18-rated items listed as “additional features”, which cost £5 each to view. The company confirmed the phrase was a euphemism used on bills to spare the blushes of customers who access films with an “adult content”. Viewers can tune in to one of six adult channels, offering full-length films and “the best of amateur video and adult entertainment”. The revelation will be an embarrassment to Ms Smith in many ways. Not least the fact that as Briain’s first woman Home Secretary, she has taken a stance on the sex industry, pledging to introduce tough licensing laws for lap-dancing clubs. She is responsible for regulating the adult entertainment industry. The bill also shows the George Clooney film Ocean’s 13 was viewed on two consecutive evenings at £3.75 a time, plus Surf’s Up at £3.50.

It was accepted without question by parliamentary auditors and paid as part of Ms Smith’s £24,000-a-year second-home allowance. This itself has led to her being investigated by Commons sleazebuster John Lyon. Ms Smith claimed tens of thousands of pounds in expenses for the home in the West Midlands where her husband Richard Timney and children James, 13, and Michael, eight, live by claiming it is not her “main residence”, to comply with Commons rules. She insists her main home is a room she rents in her sister’s house in south London. Critics say this defies belief and have dubbed her the “Second-Home Secretary”. Ms Smith, who has the most marginal seat in the Cabinet, with a majority of only 2,716, is almost certain to face further questions following the scandalous revelations.

Although her husband, Richard Timney, 46, submits her expenses claims as part of his £40,000-a-year job as her assistant, she personally signs the form each month, declaring: “I confirm that I incurred these costs wholly, exclusively and necessarily to enable me to stay overnight away from my only or main home for the purpose of performing my duties.” Mr Timney, 46, a former civil engineer, gave up his job to bring up the couple’s children and be her senior researcher and assistant when Ms Smith became an MP in 1997. Documents submitted to the Commons authorities show Ms Smith has claimed £150,304 for the cost of running a second home since 2001, including fully fitting it out. The Sunday Express has seen the documents that show Ms Smith has claimed for virtually every major household item over the past five years, right down to the kitchen sink. It was a £550 stone model from Habitat. The minister, who earns £141,866-a-year, even claimed for an 88p bath plug.

She had already spent £460 on a dining room table, £704 on a sofabed, and £1,000 on an antique fireplace. She claimed for the cost of coal to burn in it. Other items included a Hotpoint cooker, at £399 plus £15 connection, a Hotpoint tumble dryer worth £189 and two washing machines in under two years, a £249 Ariston and a Zanussi worth nearly £300. Her entertainment centre was to include DVD players, two Samsung widescreen televisions and two digital set-top boxes worth more than £1,100. The claims have come to light as work nears completion on a £2million project to publish all MPs’ expenses claims in the past five years, after they lost a three-year legal battle to keep the details secret following Freedom of Information Act requests. A tribunal ruling stated: “The laxity of and lack of clarity in the rules for Additional Cost Allowance (the second-home allowance) is redolent of a culture very different from that which exists in the commercial sphere or in most other public sector organisations today.

“These features, coupled with the very limited nature of the checks constitute a recipe for confusion, inconsistency and the risk of misuse.” The Commons authorities are in the final stages of preparing the details for release after removing personal information such as telephone numbers and bank account details. Some MPs still hope to block publication until after the next election. Ms Smith’s husband has been a source of embarrassment to her before. Last year he was unmasked as the author of a series of letters written to a newspaper backing her policies, without revealing he was married to her, or employed by her. The rants ranged from support from her plans for a national identity card to berating former Tory leader Michael Howard. Jacqui Smith under pressure over husband's adult film expense claims - Telegraph Labour Jacqui Smith under pressure over husband's adult film expense claims Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, faces serious questions over her political future following the humiliating admission that she claimed taxpayer-funded allowances for the cost of watching pornographic films at her family home.

By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent 10:00PM BST 29 Mar 2009 In a significant blow to her authority as one of the Cabinet's most senior ministers, Miss Smith was forced to apologise for submitting a £10 bill for two adult movies enjoyed by her husband, Richard Timney, while she was away in London. Mr Timney, who works as her Parliamentary assistant, also made a humiliating public apology for the "embarrassment" he had caused his wife and pledged to pay back the money, although he failed to say sorry directly to the taxpayer. The episode has left Miss Smith fighting to salvage her credibility and her future political career, but it also threatened to further undermine Gordon Brown's Government which has been blighted by a series of expenses controversies in recent weeks. In further examples, a backbench Labour MP was disclosed to have claimed £300,000 in Parliamentary expenses by registering a seaside caravan as his main home, while a Labour MP couple have built up a £250,000 nest egg courtesy of the taxpayer-funded second home allowance.

The wave of sleaze allegations provoked comparisons with the "back to basics" scandals which dogged the dying days of Sir John Major's administration. Related Articles Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper claim more than £300,000 in allowances 31 Mar 2009 A new opinion poll for The Daily Telegraph shows how the public's faith in MPs has been significantly eroded by the expenses scandals. A significant majority of those questioned said that they were convinced that hundreds of MPs were abusing the system, that the system itself was too generous and should be scrapped or reduced and that they trusted MPs less as a result. It is Miss Smith's position however, which is now under most scrutiny following the disclosure that her Commons expenses had been used to pay for the cost of watching adult films. Miss Smith's marriage was also said by friends to be in jeopardy as a result of the row, such is her anger with her husband for having submitted the claim.

Her public humiliation comes at a time when she is already under investigation by the Parliamentary watchdog for claiming the share in the house she rents from her sister as her "main residence." The arrangement allows her to put the cost of running the family home in her constituency of Redditch, Worcestershire, on the public purse, on top of her £141,866-a-year salary. Ironically, the Home Secretary's unusual set-up is the reason that her husband's paying for two pornographic films came to public attention on Sunday. By registering the family house as her second home, she is able to claim back most household expenses on that address. As her Parliamentary assistant, her husband regularly compiles the claims put in by Miss Smith under the Commons' Additional Costs Allowance (ACA). He was said to have "accidentally" submitted the television bill which included adult films along with a receipt for their internet connection. According to the Sunday Express, which obtained a leaked copy of Miss Smith's ACA claims, the couple was also reimbursed for two other films and items totalling thousands of pounds including televisions, washing machines, a kitchen sink and even an 88p plug.

Under the rules, Miss Smith is required to confirm that all expenses refer to costs accrued in the course of her work as an MP. She apologised for the claims, and promised to repay the taxpayer. Expressing his own regret about the embarrassment he had caused to his wife, Mr Timney appeared on the steps of the family home and said: "I am really sorry for any embarrassment I have caused Jacqui. I can fully understand why people might be angry and offended by this. "Quite obviously a claim should never have been made for these films, and as you know that money is being paid back." The episode is particularly embarrassing for Miss Smith as last November, she publicly criticised men who pay for sexual entertainment as she announced plans for crackdown on lapdancing clubs by making it harder for them to obtain licences. The films were viewed at 11.18pm on April 1 and 11.19pm on April 6, while Miss Smith was staying in London. On the evenings in question, Television X, one of nine adult channels available under the terms of their Virgin Media cable television contract, was screening features called "Raw Meat 3" and "By Special Request".

Miss Smith is said to be "furious" at her husband's behaviour, with friends suggesting that the couple's marriage may now be in trouble as a result. They have two young sons and the relationship was already thought to be under strain due to the amount of time she spends in London while Mr Timney looks after the children in Redditch. Gordon Brown is understood to have been surprised by the revelations but supportive, ordering Downing Street to throw protective shield around the minister. A No 10 spokesman said: ``She is doing a great job as Home Secretary and will not let this issue detract from her determination to ensure we protect the public and make our neighbourhoods safer.'' But the Home Secretary's authority appeared severely undermined, with fellow MPs openly questioning whether she would be able to remain in her job. Angus Robertson, the Scottish National Party's leader at Westminster, said: "These are serious allegations and only add to the impression that Labour is becoming engulfed in expenses sleaze.

"The ongoing allegations of expenses irregularities left the Home Secretary's credibility in tatters and present real questions over her future as a senior minister.'' David Davis, the former shadow home secretary, added that Miss Smith's poor performance as Home Secretary had already raised doubts about her survival. He said: "My first response was under what category would this expense claim be? "I don't call for people to go unless I think there is absolutely a smoking gun but I just do think on this circumstance the sympathy for her will be even less than it otherwise would have been because she is not that good at her job." Lembit Opik, the Liberal Democrat MP, said that Miss Smith had been left "compromised," adding: "This is immensely embarrassing for Jacqui on a personal and domestic level. "I haven't got any particular issue about what they watch in their own time, I do have an issue about the fact that he has compromised her.'' Even if she survives the immediate furore, angry voters in Redditch, the most marginal seat in the Cabinet with a majority of less than 3,000, suggested that she would be unlikely to be returned at the next election.

The YouGov poll for the Daily Telegraph shows that the public is fast losing patience with MPs over the succession of expenses scandals. Nearly half of those questioned said that they thought that the £24,000 second home allowance was "wrong in principle and should be scrapped altogether," with another 32 per cent backing a reduction in the maximum payment. Asked to say how many of the UK's 646 MPs were guilty of "gross abuse" of the system, 55 per cent said more than 200, including 13 per cent who said that they doubted more than 600. Even Miss Smith's Cabinet colleagues admitted that the latest revelations meant that reform was now unavoidable. Sir Alistair Graham, the former Standards Commissioner, said the latest scandal revived memories of the last Conservative administration, adding: "It was so damaging and lead to the downfall of the John Major government." YouGov questioned 2,104 adults on March 24 to 26. Westminster Babylon: The Great Expenses Giveaway | The Independent UK Politics Westminster Babylon: The Great Expenses Giveaway With so much cash sloshing around the House of Commons, it can be hard to keep up.

So here is Jane Merrick's handy guide to parliamentary perks Saturday 11 April 2009 23:00 BST Click to follow Indy Politics 1. The bath-plug scandal Jacqui Smith’s career is going down the plughole after she signed off expenses for two porn films watched by her husband, Richard Timney. She has paid back the money – but there are thousands of pounds claimed – that the taxpayer will not see again – for dozens of more mundane household items. They include 88p for a bath plug, a few sacks of coal worth £82.40, a footstool for £120.80, four scatter cushions at £18 a throw, a “large extending table” – ideal for writing out expenses forms – for £460, and a kitchen sink for £550. She has described the claims as “fair and reasonable”. MPs are allowed to claim for redecoration and white goods for their second homes, so it’s all within the rules. But if the Home Secretary spends most of her time in her sister’s spare room (see below), her husband must be the one benefiting from all those soft furnishings and nights by the fire. 2.

Grace and very favourable It must be something about ministers wanting to salvage what they can out of the falling property market. First, it emerged that Geoff Hoon had “three homes” when he was Defence Secretary – his main home, a second home in his constituency, and a grace-and-favour pad in Admiralty Arch, which came with the job. He rented out the main home, and claimed money on the second home, making around £50,000 from this tidy arrangement. Now it’s emerged that Alistair Darling, who as Chancellor knows a thing or two about money, and Margaret Beckett, who as housing minister knows a thing or two about homes, were also claiming second home allowances despite having access to grace and favour properties. Shaun Woodward has turned down a Cabinet minister’s salary as Northern Ireland Secretary, but this week it was revealed he too claims for a second home allowance, despite having access to the £80m Hillsborough Castle. 3. Second, third and fourth homes And it’s not just those who have access to grand taxpayer-funded piles who are using the controversial second-home allowance to their benefit.

Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper were cleared by Parliament’s standards commissioner for claiming expenses on what they said was their second home in north London, even though this is where their children go to school and they spend most of their time. The rules say an MP can nominate whichever property they like as their second home, so they had technically done nothing wrong. The second home is the one that brings in all the cash. So it helps if this property is the expensive London pad that one can dress up to the nines, rather than the more ordinary constituency house. Again it’s all within the rules. Others who have enjoyed this particular parliamentary quirk include Ann and Alan Keen, married Labour MPs who claim a second-home allowance even though their constituencies are not far from Westminster. 4. Services to family Most people are happy to see members of their wider family only at Christmas, weddings and funerals, but not the honourable members who represent us in Parliament.

It must only be acts of extreme selflessness that have seen Jacqui Smith house-share with her sister in an unprepossessing terrace in an unfashionable part of London, and Employment Minister Tony McNulty bunk down at his parents’ home in Harrow, for which he claimed £60,000 in expenses until this January. Yes, the Home Secretary has spent more than £150,000 since 2001 kitting out the detached family home in Redditch in soft furnishings and electrical equipment that would do a Barratt show home proud, but she doesn’t actually live there – she prefers to argue with her sister over whose turn it is to do the washing up. Highly commended in this category are Derek Conway, who put both sons on the payroll as parliamentary researchers, and Caroline Spelman, whose nanny doubled as a constituency secretary. 5. Air miles Not content with luxury in their second homes, MPs need a bit of pampering abroad too. And when they are members of select committees, the powerful groups that are supposed to scrutinise the work of the Government on behalf of the public, then their “fact-finding” jaunts around the world are paid for by the taxpayer.

Last year we stumped up £1.4m for these junkets, or as MPs say, important inquiries. The Home Affairs Committee spent £49,332 on a trip to Ecuador and Peru to investigate the cocaine trade; the Business and Enterprise Committee £48,224 in Saudi Arabia and the UAE on an inquiry “exporting out of the recession”; while the Justice Committee needed a £48,051 visit to South Africa to probe the role of a prison officer. 6. Green fingers in the till? There seem to be so many keen gardeners in Westminster, it’s a miracle any laws get passed. The additional costs allowance of more than £23,000 is supposed to cover “necessary” expenses to enable MPs to carry out their parliamentary duties. So it must be that ministers go through their red boxes in the shade of a taxpayer-funded pergola, or contemplate the West Lothian Question as they turn sausages on a barbecue, or hold constituency surgeries offering advice on the right petunias for hanging baskets.

Ms Smith, again, is a leader in this category, claiming £104.56 for a patio heater, £30.72 for “white rope” and, apparently planning an entry to the Chelsea Flower Show, £3,132.69 on plants. (She insists she has paid for some of the items herself, but does not say which.) Other gardening enthusiasts at Westminster include Mrs Beckett, who claimed nearly £2,000 for a pergola and plants. 7. Speaker cornering the market in freebies He was heavily criticised for allowing the police to raid the House of Commons offices of Tory MP Damian Green, and there is a hard core of MPs from all parties who want him to quit, so perhaps it is no surprise that Michael Martin would want to gild his lifestyle with a bit of luxury to soften the blows. Over six years, Mr Martin – usually accompanied by his wife, Mary – has cost the taxpayer nearly £150,000 by travelling more than 105,000 miles around the world. The couple often sat in first class or business class, and their destinations included Hawaii, the Bahamas, New York and Rome.

Once again, none of this is against the rules, and he says he is on official parliamentary business, but this has fuelled discontent at his office. Mary famously spent £4,000 on taxis to go grocery shopping, although the couple were not found to have committed any wrongdoing. The total bill for Mr Martin and his officials last year was £445,565. His office spent £1.7m on refurbishment to his grand apartments overlooking the Thames, including £13,000 on art and £148,900 on furniture. 8. Other perks and tax-breaks The hand just keeps giving. MPs can claim for mortgage interest and council tax on their second homes. And the new rulebook on expenses shows they can also claim back thousands of pounds in stamp duty, removal expenses and valuation fees on that treasured second property. MPs are entitled to claim for first-class travel around the UK. And they have capped price rises at 5 per cent in bars and restaurants in the Palace of Westminster. But here is a chilling warning to MPs.

Labour MP for Loughborough Andy Reed said last week he would let the “court of public opinion”, his constituents, decide whether they should foot the bill for a new boiler. Sadly, 89 per cent of readers of his local paper, the Leicester Mercury, said he could whistle for the money. More about: Revealed: Jacqui Smith claimed £23,000 of taxpayers' money for her 'second' home | Daily Mail Online Revealed: Jacqui Smith claimed £23,000 of taxpayers' money for her 'second' home comments Carry on regardless: Jacqui Smith this afternoon at a reception for Mexico's President Felipe Calderon Pressure mounted on Jacqui Smith today after it emerged she claimed almost £23,000 in expenses during a single year for her second home. The embattled Home Secretary is already embroiled in an embarrassing row after claiming expenses for two pornographic movies watched by her husband. But she faced fresh controversy this afternoon when figures released by the House of Commons revealed that she claimed £22,948 in taxpayer-funded allowances for her second home during 2007/08.

Her overall expenses claim, including travel, office and staffing costs, was £157,631. That sum included 25 journeys for her husband, Richard Timney, who is employed as her Parliamentary assistant, at a cost to the public purse of £2,531. He was forced to publicly apologise yesterday over the scandal of paying for two £5 adult films out of the public purse. The figures released today by the House of Commons authorities showed that Prime Minister Gordon Brown claimed £124,454 in expenses and allowances in 2007/08, while Conservative leader David Cameron claimed £148,829. The details are published annually and were initially due for release last October but were delayed amid a legal row over whether full receipts and invoices should be disclosed. Ms Smith is currently under investigation by an anti-sleaze watchdog over her claim from the additional costs allowance, which is aimed at covering MPs' expenses for working in London and a constituency. Ms Smith claims her sister's house in south London, where she stays, is her 'main' home - allowing her to reap the benefits of running her family house in her Redditch constituency as a second home.

But today, MPs threatened to call in police to discover how a copy of the expenses was leaked. Ministers fear a mole in the expenses department is passing stories to the media or that a dossier has been stolen and sold on. However, calls for a police investigation are likely to be seen as a smokescreen aimed at deflecting attention from the Home Secretary and her double expense scandal. RELATED ARTICLES Share this article Share As her political life hung by a thread today, David Cameron called for the Prime Minister to 'disinfect' the parliamentary expenses system. The Tory leader said: "I think she has got some questions to answer about the second home issue. It does seem to me pretty incredible to claim that the home where her family is, that is not her main home." Insiders believe the troubled Home Secretary has a matter of only a few months to save her political career. Ms Smith was already fighting sleaze allegations, and MPs said the latest revelations over the adult film bill raised 'real questions' about her future in the Cabinet. Despite strong backing from Downing Street, speculation was growing that she could be sidelined as part of a reshuffle, possibly as early as June after the European elections.

Today, Ms Smith and her expense claims has been the topic of much debate in and around Parliament: She claimed £23,000 in expenses during a single year for her second home Claimed £157,631 in total - £33,000 more than the Prime Minister She has received support from Brown who said she is 'doing a great job' A potential police probe could take place into how her expenses were leaked Demands by David Cameron to 'disinfect' MPs expenses Decision to increase MPs pay by 2.33% to £64,766 in April Miss Smith is under renewed pressure after submitting the bill for blue movies watched at her family home in Redditch, Worcestershire, as part of a £67 television package claimed under MPs' controversial secondhome allowance. She signed it off and, incredibly, it was passed by the Commons authorities. Today Mr Cameron said Gordon Brown should force MPs to be transparent about every penny they claim from the taxpayer. He told GMTV: 'Sunlight is the best disinfectant. That's what needs to happen.

Complete transparency about these expenses.' Ms Smith's 46-year-old husband Richard Timney, who also acts as her £40,000-a-year assistant, yesterday made a public apology over his viewing habits while his wife was away. The TV receipt, leaked to journalists, is one of a million-plus bills which judges have ordered MPs to release for publication following a lengthy Freedom of Information campaign, but which remain secret. As a desperate salvage operation was launched, Miss Smith was said to be 'mortified' by the revelations. A man to depend on: Jacqui Smith with Gordon Brown this afternoon Apology: Richard Timney yesterday She promised to pay back the cash spent on the subscription-only channel. Those close to her suggested that her relations with Mr Timney were increasingly tense. The fact that he was watching porn is particularly embarrassing since she has taken a tough stance on the sex industry including a pledge to crack down on lap dancing clubs. The Home Secretary is already embroiled in a sleaze inquiry after clawing in £116,000 of expenses by claiming a bedroom at her sister's London address was her main home. Critics said the latest scandal had left her credibility in 'tatters'.

But she insisted she had no intention of resigning as she was not at home when the explicit movies were viewed. Downing Street gave forceful support to the Home Secretary, saying she was 'doing a great job' and had 'done the right thing' by taking steps to rectify an 'inadvertent mistake'. But the Prime Minister is certain to be furious that one of his senior ministers has become a figure of ridicule. Miss Smith's claim for the cost of two porn films came when she 'mistakenly' submitted an invoice for a TV package when billing for an internet connection. An itemised receipt handed to the Commons authorities showed the films had been watched on channels offered by the Virgin Media cable TV service. Subscribers can watch adult-only movies on the Playboy Channel, the Adult Channel and Television X. Films available include Sweaty Sex and Happy Husbands And Willing Wives. The bill revealed the blue movies each cost £5 and were watched on April 1 and April 6 last year. It also include two pay-per-view screenings of the film Ocean's 13, each costing £3.75, and another £3.50 to watch the movie Surf's Up.

Back in the fold: Ms Smith charts with Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband this afternoon A receipt for a new cooker and connection and a claim for a washing machine The £67 claim was submitted in June last year. Although Mr Timney puts in her expenses claims as part of his job as her assistant, Miss Smith must personally sign a form each month declaring they were 'wholly, exclusively and necessarily' incurred for her duties as an MP. It was paid under the discredited additional costs allowance (ACA), which allows MPs to claim £24,000 a year to run homes in their constituency and another close to Parliament. Enlarge Television subscriptions are permissible and it once emerged that Gordon Brown claimed for his monthly Sky Sports fees. Yesterday 46-year-old Miss Smith - whose majority of 2,716 in Redditch is the slenderest of any cabinet minister - said: 'I am sorry that in claiming for my internet connection, I mistakenly claimed for a television package alongside it. 'As soon as the matter was brought to my attention, I took immediate steps to contact the relevant parliamentary authorities and rectify the situation.

All money claimed for the television package will be paid back in full.' Outside their detached home, Mr Timney said: 'I am really sorry for any embarrassment I have caused Jacqui. I can fully understand why people might be angry and offended by this.' Jacqui Smith and husband Richard Timney A friend of the couple said Mr Timney had been given an ' ear-bashing' by his wife and added: 'It is fair to say Richard will be sleeping on the sofa for a while.' Miss Smith is being investigated by Parliament's standards commissioner after claiming more than £116,000 of taxpayers' money for a second home while lodging with her sister Sara in south-east London. She classifies the 'digs' as her main residence, which leaves her clear to bank up to £24,000 a year in Commons expenses to run the Redditch house where she and her husband live with their two young sons. Tory MP Mark Field said: 'The entire Commons allowance system is now indefensible.

It's one thing to make dubious claims on the location of your second home but for the husband of a Home Secretary to be claiming for pornographic TV is completely beyond the pale.' Fellow Conservative backbencher Philip Davies said: 'Claiming that her sister's back bedroom is her main home is one thing but this could push her over the cliff. 'It is surely not legitimate to use Commons allowances to buy blue movies. I cannot see how she can survive.' Documents handed to national newspapers show the extent to which Miss Smith, who is paid £141,866 a year, has kitted out her family home using her additional costs allowance. She has claimed for virtually every household item over the past five years - including a £550 kitchen sink and even an 88p bath plug. Last year Mr Timney, who quit his civil engineer's job to bring up the couple's two children when Miss Smith became MP for Redditch in 1997, was unmasked as the author of a series of letters attacking the Conservatives. He sent a string of letters to the Redditch Advertiser backing his wife's identity-card plans and criticising the Tories over security and transport.

The porn revelation is the latest expenses scandal to engulf Labour. Jobs minister Tony McNulty's political career is also in peril after standards commissioner Mr Lyon launched an inquiry over claims he abused his expenses. Expenses Top 10: 1. Eric Joyce (LAB: Falkirk) £187,334 2. Michael Connarty (LAB: Linlithgow & East Falkirk) £183,466 3. Alistair Carmichael (LD: Orkney & Shetland) £176,190 4. Ben Wallace (CON: Lancaster & Wyre) £175,523 5. Mohammad Sarwar (LAB: Glasgow Central) £174,882 6. Charles Kennedy (LD: Ross, Skye & Inverness West) £174,232 7. Janet Anderson (LAB: Rossendale & Darwen) £173,556 8. David Borrow (LAB: South Ribble) £172,706 9. Jim McGovern (LAB: Dundee West) £171,989 10.

Fabian Hamilton (LAB: North East Leeds) £171,824 Party Leaders: 286. Nick Clegg (LD: Sheffield Hallam) £149,026 289. David Cameron (CON: Witney) £148,829 575. Gordon Brown (LAB: Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) £124,454 Most spent on travel for spouse and family: 1. Charles Kennedy (LD: Ross, Skye and Lochaber): £11,296 on 60 trips 2. Alistair Darling (LAB: Edinburgh South West): £9,674 for 55 trips 3. Douglas Alexander (LAB: Paisley and Renfrewshire South): £7,235 for 51 trips 4. Caroline Spelman (CON: Meriden): £6,960 for 99 trips 5. John Thurso (LD: Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross): £6,437 for 34 trips 6.

Gordon Brown (LAB: Kirkaldy and Cowdenbeath): £6,282 for 50 trips 7. Graham Brady (CON: Altrincham and Sale): £5,962 for 73 trips 8. Nigel Dodds (DUP: Belfast North): £5,873 for 29 trips 9. Rosemary McKenna (LAB: Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East): £5,731 for 30 trips 10. Alistair Carmichael (LD: Orkney and Shetland): £5,719 for 23 trips

Question: Which UK government minister claimed parliamentary expenses for an 88p bath plug and porn movies?
Answer: Jacqui Smith