39. EXTRACT
FROM
ARTICLE
IN
THE
DAILY
MAIL,
PUBLISHED
30 MARCH
2009
[…]
JACQUI SMITH faces the threat of a humiliating demotion
after she was forced to apologise yesterday for using House of
Commons expenses to pay for pornographic movies watched by her
husband.
[…]
Miss Smith submitted the bill for blue movies watched
at her family home in […], Worcestershire, as part of a £67
television package claimed under MPs' controversial second home
allowance.
She signed it off and, incredibly, it was passed
by the Commons authorities.
[…]
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.
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.
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."
[…]
30 March 2009
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