Is it just me, or is Gordon Brown’s take on the Jacqui Smith situation especially dispiriting? Speaking at a Downing Street presser, he said that it’s a “personal matter” that “must not detract from the great job Jacqui Smith is doing”. That’s it. Nothing more.
Sure, that Smith’s husband chooses to watch porn films in the privacy of his own home is a personal matter. But the moment when the taxpayer is expected to pick up the tab is the moment it becomes a public matter. It remains a public matter even after Smith has apologised and paid the money back, as taxpayers need to know that this kind of thing won’t be allowed to happen again. There cannot be a presumption that politicians can claim for almost anything under the sun – “mistakenly” or not – and only rectify the situation once they’re pulled up on it.
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