JACQUI SMITH AT BAY

by MONITOR
ON Sunday Britain's Home Secretary Jacqui Smith appeared in a very nice picture on the front page of the Sunday Telegraph and gave an interview to the paper; yesterday morning she was on BBC Radio Four's Today programme defending her MPs expenses claims as best she could from the ruthless questioning of John Humphrys. Gordon Brown and his PR people are no match for the Blair-Campbell team and it was only too obvious that poor Mrs Smith has been picked to lead a charm offensive on the expenses scandal. She was very contrite about the mistake over her claim for blue movies watched by her husband and she insisted that she had not been living in a box room at her sister's London home but had shared the house in every way. She rejected Humphrys' suggestion that she should have resigned over her dodgy expenses, replying that she has an important job to do at the Home Office. The reality is that for over a year now the public has become tired of hearing MPs of both major parties insisting that they have “done nothing wrong” and have “followed the advice given” about what is allowable. Many MPs have seen that the rules are riddled with holes and have taken advantage of that fact instead of showing a sense of responsibility. A collective apology delivered by the Speaker would be a good idea, followed by a standstill on all claims until new, watertight rules are presented and approved by the House of Commons itself.