IDS to face inquiry
The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner has announced that Iain Duncan Smith will face a further inquiry into allegations surrounding the employment of his wife.
The investigative journalist Michael Crick has alleged that Iain Duncan Smith had acted improperly in the employment of his wife in the first year of his leadership. There is no bar to MPs employing their family, but Mr Crick argued that Betsy Duncan Smith had not done enough work to justify her salary, which comes from the public purse.
Iain Duncan Smith has vigorously denied all suggestions of wrong doing.
After looking at both the submission from Michael Crick, and the rebuttal from Iain Duncan Smith, Sir Philip Mawer announced that he would be launching an inquiry into the allegations.
Speaking to journalists, Sir Philip said that the decision to investigate ‘does not imply that I regard the allegations against Mr Duncan Smith as substantiated, simply that I need additional information in order to be able to evaluate them properly.’
‘It is in the public interest that these inquires should be conducted thoroughly fairly and as expeditiously as possible’, he added.
Mr Duncan Smith, in an interview with the BBC, responded by welcoming the news of the enquiry and expressing his confidence of complete exoneration.
However Mr Duncan Smith attacked the sources of the allegations, saying: ‘These are really cowards lurking in the shadows.’
‘These cowards have gone after my wife as a means of getting to me and I think that is intolerable. I love my wife dearly and she has supported me for 10 years in my office.’
‘I have laid in front of Sir Philip the details, I stand by that and believe I will be exonerated.’
