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Sleaze watchdog investigates Smith over home expenses
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor18.02.09
HOME Secretary Jacqui Smith will be investigated about her £116,000 Commons expense claims, anti-sleaze watchdogs confirmed today.
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards John Lyon announced that he had accepted a complaint against Ms Smith and her use of the second home allowance for MPs.
Mr Lyon's statement came after the Evening Standard revealed earlier today that he had written to Ms Smith to request detailed information on her expense claims.
He had previously turned down two requests to investigate Ms Smith. But his new tougher stance comes after Ms Smith's neighbours volunteered evidence which seems to suggest she is wrong to designate a house in south-east London as her "main home".
Dominic and Jessica Taplin, who live in the same street as the Home Secretary in Nunhead, wrote to the Commons authorities to claim that she is rarely there more than three nights a week. A spokesman for MrLyon said: "He has accepted a complaint against Jacqui Smith and is following the procedure laid down for him."
Ms Smith claims that her family home in Redditch is her "second home" and as a result has claimed at least £116,000 in second home allowances since 2001.
Tory MP Ben Wallace, who had a complaint against Ms Smith dismissed earlier this month, submitted a fresh complaint this morning on the back of the Taplins' evidence.
The Lancaster and Wyre MP's letter to Mr Lyon asks him to investigate whether the Home Secretary has "abused the allowance system".
Ms Smith's home in the capital is owned by her sister Sara. Crucially, the minister claims that she spends most of the week at the house, for which she pays her sister weekly rent of £100. But Mr and Mrs Taplin this weekend claimed that Ms Smith is often at her London address for only two days a week and rarely spends Sunday night there.
Ms Smith said in statement: "I have always said that I would be happy to answer any questions in relation to my expenses and will provide the House Authorities with any additional information they may require.
"I have always acted fully within Parliament's clear rules on expenses and sought written approval from the Parliamentary Fees Office in 2007 over my living arrangements."
Ms Smith's allies point out that until 2006, ministers were advised to follow the practice of designating their constituency houses as "second homes". The advice then changed to leave it to ministers' discretion.
The Standard has also learned that the Taplins emailed David Cameron to raise their concerns last Friday.
Mr Cameron did not see the email but a senior member of the Tory leader's staff told the couple that one of their options was to go to a newspaper "in the public interest", a party source said.
Mrs Taplin, 33, said on Sunday: "When I read that she says she spends most of the week here, I thought, 'That is a fabrication'.
"I would say she spends no more than a third of the year here."
Mr Taplin, 46, a businessman who works from home, said: "You can tell when she is here because the police guards arrive first. They turn up mid-morning on Monday and leave mid-morning on Thursday."
Ms Smith's spokeswoman said last week that she arrived at her sister's house on "Sunday or Monday" and usually leaves on Thursday.
Mr Taplin stressed that although he had voted Tory in the past, he might vote Labour at the next election.
Reader views (56)
My comment to Patrick in Surrey - rather than ring "Mr D Cameron" so that he can "muck-rake", I would prefer to phone Mr G Brown and ask him how on earth he managed to drag the economy down to this level - he inherited a country that was economically sound and is blaming everyone else for the state the economy is in - and he wasn't even elected as Prime Minister.
- Sue, St Albans, Herts
Laws should be applied to everyone.
- Brandon Thomas, London
Great new for the Tories and another nail in New Labour's coffin.
- Ted, London
Do you think that Jaqui Smiths sister has declared what she gets as rent from her sister as income ?
Until you have evidence to the contrary, mark, I suggest you keep your sleazy accusations to yourself. You are discussing a respected Government minister, after all.
"Government minister" - yes
"respected Government minister" - debatable but ultimately irrelevant - the statement is about Jacqui Smith's sister!
- David, Lewes, East Sussex
why are mps allowed these expenses to start with,are businessmen/woman allowed the same and if not why not.there cannot be one rule for mps and another for everyone else,also if you need to ask for advice on this type of claim i think you already know it is dubious as you must be thinking about the outcome if people find out,how hard can it be to make a very simple rule that anyone can understand that if you are caught stealing you should pay the penalty and no one trusts you anymore so you should go.
- John, airdrie
Bonuses for bankers, bonuses for politicians. Corrupt bankers, corrupt politicians. I'm just surprised there hasn't been a riot on the scale of the poll tax or I could just be premature.
- Geoff, london, uk
If Mrs Smith has declared that she is a resident of Redditch on the electoral roll then that has to be her place of residence. Should there be a discrepancy between the electoral roll and her parliamentary expenses then serious questions have to be raised."
This isn't true, Richard, because the electoral roll is retrospective and only gets altered at the most once a year, so you can move home several times yet not have deceived anyone
- Keith Price, Luton, England
If Mrs Smith has declared that she is a resident of Redditch on the electoral roll then that has to be her place of residence. Should there be a discrepancy between the electoral roll and her parliamentary expenses then serious questions have to be raised.
- Richard Johnstone, London
The answer to the problem of second homes is for the Government of the day to buy up all the empty homes which we are told are in and around London and then,rent them out to the MPs who are claiming second homes expenses. The rents charged would of course be affordable from the MPs substantial salaries. Packed lunches would take care of the meal allowances but then, pigs might fly.
Awesome Geronimo Leeds
- Awesome Geronimo, Leeds UK
She may not have broken any rules but she has certainly broken the back of Labour credibility and has ensured that the gormless Socialists will be in opposition for years! Thank you thank you Jacqui!!!
- Alan, Chigwell. UK
Do you think that Jaqui Smiths sister has declared what she gets as rent from her sister as income ?
Until you have evidence to the contrary, mark, I suggest you keep your sleazy accusations to yourself. You are discussing a respected Government minister, after all.
- Keith Price, Luton, England
Good news for all disgruntled Tory troublemakers, just
ring Mr.D.Cameron for advice on how best to muck-rake.
Perhaps he has finally found a function in life as he has
no idea about how to help the economy.
- Patrick, Surrey
Do you think that Jaqui Smiths sister has declared what she gets as rent from her sister as income ?
- Mark, Diss
You know the old saw?
As Governments progress Labour will always be involved with financial sleeze...the Tories with sexual?
Chickens not only coming home to roost but screeching as they are being attempted to be throttled
- Bazdbaz, Manchester UK
Why on earth is the taxpayer paying £100 per week for her to live with her sister? She and her family have chosen to live at their second home rather than take up residence in her current constituency, so as far as I'm concerned she should be paying any rent on a property from her own wages. Either that, or move nearer to her job. That's what everybody else does!
Why should her sister earn a few thousand pounds per year simply for letting her sibling stay with her for a few days a week? It's ridiculous. If the money was being paid to an independent landlord I could stomach it, even if it was a higher amount as a result. But for the taxpayers money to go straight into her sister's pocket, simply because she chooses to reside outside her constituency, just stinks.
Why doesn't she get her sister to drive her to work and we can pay for that too? And her husband can be paid to cook her dinner every now and again. In fact, why not have her whole family be paid by the taxpayers to do things you would expect of her family members anyway?
- Steven, London
Dominic, the nosey Tory neighbour, is a total fool if he thinks he can get away with besmirching Jacui's reputation, without us noticing his political bent and motives
- Keith Price, Luton, England
Whether Jack has done anything wrong.... I dont know. But its great that any person who is priveleged and normally above the law or can bend 'quietly' the rules, still can be brought to account. Thank heavens we still have a free press.
- Bondy, spain
I firmly believe that this really ought to be a Police Fraud investigation, otherwise the whitewash buckets will be brought out - yet again, they hardly seem to be put away before the Establishment brings them out for another cover up. I think the offence to be investigated would be obtaining money by deception, but as Home Secretary Ms Smith will know that.
- Neil, Gloucestershire, England.
Wow, the Conservative government of 1996 may be but a distant memory, but didn't they all end up like this? Different faces, same game - Aitken, the Hamiltons, Mandelson et al - dyed in the wool twisters - every single one of them.
- Jim, London
John Lyon, Mr Watchdog, cut and paste this into your report:
"We have fully investigated Ms Smith's expense claims and found that everything has been done in accordance with Parliamentary rules. She has no case to answer."
There you go, that should save the taxpayer from having to fund another NuLiebour whitewash!
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster
With 2 million unemployed and more fearful of their jobs, Jacqui Smith shows as much sensitivity as Marie Antoinette. Perhaps the aim of the Brown Cabinet is to rule the country for their benefit. Where will they go when the trough is empty?
- Brian Edmonds, Farnham Surrey
Home Secretary not only have to follow the rules and keep within the law they have to set an example by being clearly in the right. This one is at best shabby. The country deserves better, she should go.
- Bill G, Gerrards Cross
Untouchable.
- Ted, London
I doubt that she has broken any rules.
The point is that greedy MP's should not get so much in expenses anyway. But the public is now so passive when it comes to the government that we just let them do what they want and just walk all over us, apart from every now and again when we have an outburst about it.
- Em, London
would parliamentary candidates be prepared to disclose their anticipated expenditure while canvassing our votes
- Paul Lask, London UK
Resign Now.
- Marina, East Anglia
An easy solution for her to prove that she is as innocent as she claims, run off the film on some of those "big brother" cameras that both she and Liebour has had installed throughout London, they can't lie!
No chance...
- George, gillingham
Is Ms Smith going to stand down whilst the investigation is carried out - like Hain, Mandleson etc did in the past, or is she different from all the other Labour Ministers who have been investigated for alleged wrong doing? I would not begrudge her paying her sister a few quid a week; but for the taxpayer to seemingly having paid her sister`s mortgage that`s milking it a bit - well a lot actually. If one of her police officers had done this they would have been fired for fiddling their expenses. Is it now one law for the boss and another for the minians?
- Brian Gare, Norfolk Gorleston
If she only pays £100 a week rent then that's all she should get as an expense. simple.
- Ag, The Village of London
If you already have a lodger you can receive up to £4,250 a year tax-free.
- Darren, London
Who do these people think they are? If they were employed in the private sector, they would be out the door with the P45's. It is theft, do they not understand the word. Stealing from taxpayers is no lesser a crime than any other type of theft. There is a constant cover up of the financial excesses of this government and therefore it is no use Gordon Brown climbing on his moral high horse and trying to curb the excesses of bankers.
- Patricia, LONDON
So the watchdog actually did something right, after THREE requests he finally got the message (probably with help from a school kid), duh. Was he lent a backbone? I'd like to read his letter to Jackboot, it wouldn't surprise me if he used grovelling/begging words.
- Ralph, GB
'nothing to hide , nothing to fear' !!!!
- David C, purbeck -uk
This a further example of they way socialists behave when they get a chance to get their snoats in the trough.
- John, EPSOM
Bob asks "Surely they could simply check the log books for her taxpayer funded police guard to find out where she was at what time?"
Now we know why Ms Smith has scrapped the "Police time sheets"!
- David, London
They will prob give her a bonus and promote her.
- Serox, London
Is this the same committee that let the Winterton's off Scott free for claiming rent on a property that they already owned having paid off the mortgage with Taxpayers money?
- B Bristow, Andover England
It sounds like the writing is on the wall for her - what with all the various CGT and council tax positions that she needs to have covered and the huge disparity between the £100 a week going to her sister (did she pay it during the summer too?) and the £400 a week she was claiming for the upkeep of her house there must be enough in here for a Home Secretary to appreciate that she has to go. They may turn it into death by a thousand cuts, but in the current climate that would be hideous and with the ruthless Mandleson on board (and were this a one-off case) I would expect the labour hierachy to insist on seeing answers to all the obvious questions asap and then forcing her out......
However, one reason why they might not do that, and why the other parties may not be clapping their hands with glee over this disgraceful episode, is if many other MP's of every hue are up to something similar. If the HC authorities approve an arrangement like this (and assuming that they were told the truth - another nice little avenue of inquiry) the concern is that many more are are up to it.
- Michael, london
I am sure there is a spin on this and nothing will come out it.
- Max, Isleworth
And politicians wonder why the public view them with such contempt.
- David, London
About time. I've no doubt this will all be washed over, but at least now it's all for there to see.
- Scott, London
Forget the expense hiccup this lady is getting rid of Abu Qatada,well done.
- David,Chertsey, Chertsey.UK.
What an example for the people of this Country. The person who is laughingly in charge of law and order.
- Roger, Surrey
Well done those neighbours!
- Marianne, SW France
I don't think I've spent £116K on home improvements in my whole life. How does she manage it?
- Neil M., london uk,
Well done the Taplins! It is about time that the tax payers of this country insisted on MPs and members of the House of Lords behaving like honest citizens. We are being ripped off. If Smith has not broken any rules, then the rules need to be tightened up and done so quickly.
- William, London
Politicians are coming down hard on bankers for their ill gotten bonuses at taxpayers' expense, how about they start to look closer to home?
- Mcw, London
I really cannot see why this woman is allowed to call her sister's house her "first home". It isn't her home at all, it's her sister's. She has only one home which is in Redditch, and should be claiming only a modest lodging allowance in respect of the time spent at her sister's house.
- Neil, Gloucestershire, England.
If her sister is taking £116k from her I guess that's going to lead to a rather hefty tax bill??
- Paul, London
I'm sure Jackboot Jackie will be able to explain very well indeed.
- P Staker, London
If my sister came to stay with me there would be no payment but if her employer paid her an expense anyway then perhaps I might say lets have a meal but this is taxpayers money and Smith owes us a fiduciary duty. I understand she explaind the arrangement to the House authorities but it was only on the basis of it being her main residence. Hand on heart I think she knows what has to be done.
- Jack Spratt, Richmond, England
I find Smith's behaviour totally odious, and any so-called internal enquiry unacceptable.
- R.F., Yorks, UK
Typical, another MP milking the system, what will happen?
- Mike, London England
Good.
- Trevn, Abu Dhabi
Yep, women make much better politicians than men. So much more ... what are the words? Self righteous!
- Frank, Home Counties, England.
Surely they could simply check the log books for her taxpayer funded police guard to find out where she was at what time?
- Bob, Cheam
