Brown: We can't tolerate expenses mistakes
The prime minister yesterday issued a stark warning about Commons allowances , saying: 'You cannot condone mistakes on expenses'.
Home secretary Jacqui Smith, who has been under fire since it emerged her husband claimed expenses for buying two pornographic films, was right to apologise, Mr Brown said.
In an exclusive interview, he said: 'All of us have a responsibility. It is right when a mistake is made that people sort them out and apologise and correct them.
'The vast majority of people are in public service to serve the public. They don't want and I don't want what they are doing to be clouded by issues of expenses and allowences.
'You cannot condone mistakes that are made on expenses and those who have apologised have been right to do so.'
Ms Smith has been under fierce scrutiny since the weekend revelations over expenses claims for five films watched by her husband, Richard Timney, who is also employed as her personal assistant.
Yesterday, as new details of MP's expenses were published, it emerged that the home secretary had claimed a total of £157,631 for travel, office and staffing costs in 2007/2008.
She was paid almost the whole second home allowance, listing her main residence as a house she shares with her sister, while charging £22,948 for her family home in the midlands.
Her payment also included 25 journeys for her husband.
The minister's claims were more than Mr. Brown, who claimed £124,454, while Conservative leader David Cameron's allowances added up to £148,829.
Publicly, Mr Brown maintained his support for Ms Smith yesterday, telling reporters: 'This is very much a personal matter for Jacqui. She has made her apology. The best thing is that Jacqui Smith gets on with her work, whi is what she wants to do.'
The prime minister also said he wanted to bring forward an investigation into MPs expenses. He said: 'There is no reason why the can't do things as quickly as they want to. We need a better system.'
In a letter to the independent committee on standards in public life, he suggested scrapping the second home allowance and replacing it with a 'simpler overnight allowance'. 
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