LONDON, (Reuters) – British interior minister Jacqui Smith plans to resign, a source close to her said yesterday, the highest profile casualty of an expenses scandal that has swept through parliament and could yet claim more big names.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Labour party faces a rout in European and local elections tomorrow and Brown is expected to reshuffle his team soon afterwards in an effort to revive his government’s fortunes ahead of a parliamentary election.
Britons are furious that many members of parliament (MPs) have milked the allowances system, claiming from taxpayers the cost of everything from duck houses to cleaning a moat at a time when many voters are struggling in a recession.
Smith’s reputation suffered in March when a leaked copy of her parliamentary expenses claims showed she had charged taxpayers for her husband’s rental of two pornographic movies.
“She spoke to the prime minister at Easter and said she felt it was the right time to go at the next reshuffle,” the source told Reuters.
With a parliamentary election due by June 2010, Brown is running out of time to win back public support — opinion polls predict a big win for the centre-right opposition Conservatives.
There has been speculation that finance minister Alistair Darling, who has faced criticism for his own expenses claims, could be moved from the Treasury to replace Smith.
Foreign minister David Miliband, who was at the forefront of speculation over a leadership challenge last year, may also be switched to another role.
“I want to continue in my job as Foreign Secretary,” Miliband told reporters. “I will continue to support the prime minister, the leadership that he is offering is important.”
Brown has insisted he will not step down despite dismal opinion polls ratings, saying he has a duty to clean up politics before calling the next election.
