New evidence submitted on Betsy Duncan Smith role
The parliamentary standards commissioner is to receive a second body of information on allegations surrounding Iain Duncan Smith’s employment of his wife.
The Conservative leader employed Betsy Duncan Smith in his private office after becoming leader of the opposition, a position that is funded by the taxpayer.
It has been alleged that the work undertaken by Mrs Duncan Smith was not sufficient to justify the public salary she received. If true, the situation would represent a breach of parliamentary standards.
Journalist Michael Crick is to provide the parliamentary standards commissioner with additional material today, after handing him a dossier on the allegations yesterday. Commissioner Sir Philip Mawer must then look at the information and decide whether or not there is a case to answer.
If the Commissioner concludes that there is a case to answer, Mr Duncan Smith and his wife would then face weeks of investigation about the period.
Significantly, the return to parliament has seen the Conservative party leader besieged by talk of rebellion. Those involved are likely to increase the pressure on Mr Duncan Smith if investigations weaken his public support.
Indeed, some of those loyal to Iain Duncan Smith have hinted that the allegations derive from those that would overthrow him. Deputy leader Michael Ancram went so far as to dismiss the scandal as the work of ‘malevolent forces’ within the party.
The Conservative leader had previously warned that he would sue newspapers that published the allegations made against him, but this has not stopped some reporting on the claims. He has also made his own submission to the Commissioner.
He told Mr Mawer: ‘I totally reject claims reported in the media, and set out in Mr Crick’s dossier presented to you today, that I was guilty of financial wrongdoing in the employment of my wife as a diary secretary after I became Conservative Party leader. ‘
His submission also includes signed statements by four members of his office staff during the period, explaining the role that Betsy Duncan Smith fulfilled.
The commissioner may yet decide that there is no case to be answered, and that Mrs Duncan Smith earned her wages with appropriate work within the office. It has been reported that this involved maintaining the office diary and ensuring that the office ran smoothly.
