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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Smith asked to explain expenses | Smith asked to explain expenses |
| (10 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. | 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. | 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. | 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. |
| 'Neighbours' complaint' | |
| A spokesman for Mr Lyon said: "He has accepted a complaint against Jacqui Smith and is following the procedure laid down for him." | 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". | 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". | But she added: "I followed advice the I was given and I have followed the rules". |
| According to the London Evening Standard, the latest complaint comes from Ms Smith's neighbours in London, Dominic and Jessica Taplin. | |
| The couple claimed in an article in the Mail on Sunday at the weekend that Ms Smith is often at her London address for just two days a week and rarely spends Sunday night there. | |
| They told the newspaper it was easy to tell when Ms Smith is at home as her security staff were on duty in the street. | |
| Mrs Taplin said: "When I read that she says she spends most of the week here, I thought, 'That is a fabrication'." | |
| After speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Mr and Mrs Taplin are understood to have written to the Commons fees office, which looks after MPs' expenses. | |
| Last week, Ms Smith's spokesman said she arrives at her sister's house on "Sunday or Monday" and usually leaves on Thursday. | |
| Mr Lyon is now reported to have asked Ms Smith to set out exactly how much time she spends at the address in south-east London. | |
| Ms Smith has consistently denied any wrongdoing, insisting that she had written approval from the Commons fees office for her arrangements. |