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| Home secretary 'set to step down' | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Jacqui Smith is expected to stand down as home secretary in a reshuffle, Whitehall sources have told the BBC. | Jacqui Smith is expected to stand down as home secretary in a reshuffle, Whitehall sources have told the BBC. |
| Prime Minister Gordon Brown is set to shake-up his cabinet after Thursday's European and English local elections. | |
| Ms Smith has been criticised for listing her sister's London house as her main home for expenses - and her husband's claim for an adult movie. | Ms Smith has been criticised for listing her sister's London house as her main home for expenses - and her husband's claim for an adult movie. |
| It is understood Ms Smith, the first woman home secretary, intends to defend her Redditch seat at the next election. | |
| Mr Brown confirmed to the BBC he is planning a reshuffle but refused to be drawn on individual ministers' roles. | Mr Brown confirmed to the BBC he is planning a reshuffle but refused to be drawn on individual ministers' roles. |
| It has been reported that Ms Smith, 46, told him two months ago that she wanted to step down as home secretary. | It has been reported that Ms Smith, 46, told him two months ago that she wanted to step down as home secretary. |
| Made home secretary when Mr Brown became prime minister in 2007, she initially won plaudits for her handling of the car bomb attack on Glasgow Airport. | |
| But she has since come under pressure over a series of issues - including attempts to extend pre-charge detention limits for terrorist suspects, a pay row between the government and police and the home office leaks inquiry that led to the arrest of Tory MP Damian Green. | |
| Weeks before the Daily Telegraph began its revelations about MPs' expenses, Ms Smith's own claims came under question. | |
| She had designated her sister's home, where she stays when she is in London, as her main home - rather than her constituency home where her family live. | |
| Later she agreed to pay back allowances claimed for pay-per-view television services, which included two adult films apparently watched by her husband. | |
| Ms Smith is not the only cabinet minister under fire over their expenses claims and facing questions about their future. | |
| Hewitt and Hughes | |
| Chancellor Alistair Darling and Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon have both had to apologise and pay back some money claimed on their second homes. | |
| Both involved bills that had been paid in advance and covered a period when the properties were no longer their designated "second homes". | |
| And Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has faced widespread speculation that she will be axed as a result of controversy over her second home claims. | |
| Meanwhile Bury North Labour MP David Chaytor, who is accused of claiming for a mortgage that was already paid off, has announced that he will not stand at the next election. | |
| Also on Tuesday, former Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said she would stand down as an MP at the next election, but said it had nothing to do with the expenses furore. | |
| Shortly afterwards children's minister Beverley Hughes became the latest to announce she would stand down, in her case due to "family circumstances". |