LONDON, ENGLAND — British Cabinet Minister Jacqui Smith may lose her seat after her husband admitted this week to buying pay-per-view porn with taxpayers’ money.Richard Timney, whom Home Secretary Smith employs as her office manager at an annual salary of £40,000 (about $56,000 U.S.), said he “mistakenly” submitted a charge of £10 (about $14 U.S.) on his expense account for two adult movies he watched at the couple’s home in Redditch. The expense account also included charges for other pay-per-view movies of a family friendly nature.
Smith denied watching the adult entertainment with her husband and said she was “horrified” to discover the inappropriate expense.
Timney’s revelation came to light at a particularly bad time for Smith, who currently is under investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards over her controversial attempt to claim £116,000 (about $164,000 U.S.) in “second home” expenses she said she has incurred since being elected to Parliament.
Under British regulations, MPs may claim second-home expenses if they are required to maintain two residences in order to serve their constituencies. Smith lodges at her sister’s London home while Parliament is in session and claims that location as her primary residence in order to claim as second-home expenses those associated with the family’s home in Redditch. The PCS considers the tactic dodgy.
Members of the opposition party expressed outrage over both Timney’s and Smith’s behavior. Conservative leader David Cameron called the porn revelation “deeply embarrassing.”
“I do not think this [porn] thing is the issue,” he told The Associated Press. “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.
“I think this goes to a deeper problem, which is the second-home allowance for MPs,” he added. “The prime minister has ordered a review, but he has sort of kicked it into the long grass. The review doesn’t start until September. It is not going to report until after the next election. That is hopeless. We have got to get on with it.”
Prime Minister Gordon Brown indicated he considers the porn and second-home issues a political distraction.
“The home secretary [Smith] is doing a great job, and I do not think this issue should be allowed to detract from everything she is doing to ensure we protect the public and keep our neighborhoods safe,” he said. “She has done the right thing by taking steps to rectify the mistake that was made as soon as she became aware of it.”
Smith has said she will repay the amount her husband was reimbursed.
