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| Smith asked to explain expenses | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said she will "answer any questions" Parliament's sleaze watchdog has about her £116,000 second home expenses. | Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said she will "answer any questions" Parliament's sleaze watchdog has about her £116,000 second home expenses. |
| Standards Commissioner John Lyon has accepted a complaint against Ms Smith, which could lead to a full inquiry. | Standards Commissioner John Lyon has accepted a complaint against Ms Smith, which could lead to a full inquiry. |
| He has so far resisted calls for a probe after it emerged Ms Smith claims second home allowance on the house she shares with her husband and family. | |
| Ms Smith told BBC News she had "followed the rules". | Ms Smith told BBC News she had "followed the rules". |
| Mr Lyon has previously turned down two requests to investigate Ms Smith over her decision to designate her sister's house in London - where she stays when she is in the capital - as her main home. | |
| The decision has enabled her to claim at least £116,000 in second home allowances on her constituency home in Redditch, Worcestershire, since becoming an MP. | |
| A spokesman for Mr Lyon said: "He has accepted a complaint against Jacqui Smith and is following the procedure laid down for him." | |
| Ms Smith told BBC News she would "respond to any questions the independent commissioner asks me". | |
| But she added: "I followed advice the I was given and I have followed the rules". |