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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

Original poster

To think Community Service is NOT decorating Jacqui Smiths home?

18 replies

Mitmoo · 25/08/2011 08:32

Two prisoners getting ready to leave prison were sent to work in the community, supposed to be doing work to help the community. What two of them ended up doing was spending two days decorating Jacqui Smiths home.

She donated an unspecified amount to the charity who organises the work.

DM quote (also on R5Live)

Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has defended her use of two day-release prisoners to paint her £450,000 home when they should have been doing community work.

Prison bosses have now launched an investigation into how the pair, who were working for free as part of a back-to-work scheme and were meant to be improving parks and clearing up rubbish-strewn streams, instead ended up spending two days redecorating a room in Miss Smith?s house last month.

Speaking on an LBC radio programme, she was guest presenting, Miss Smith said she wanted 'to set the record a little bit straight' and insisted the prisoners 'didn't have anything else on'.

I've got some DIY that could be caught up on, I wonder if a tenner in the charity box would get it done?

OP posts:

Itsjustafleshwound · 25/08/2011 08:36

I'm somehow not surprised by this - it is the same woman who was implicated in the expense scandal - why would she suddenly grow a conscience ???

I think we are BU to actually expect better from her..

freybean · 25/08/2011 08:37

i know but its like that MP could got the council to tarmac his drive

complete pisstake

freybean · 25/08/2011 08:38

could??? mean who

Original poster

Mitmoo · 25/08/2011 08:39

Yes it was her husband who bought porn and she submitted it as an expense. Probably as she wasn't there to service him.

OP posts:

Itsjustafleshwound · 25/08/2011 08:46

The porn was a prurient aside - she was accused of 'flipping' - staying at her sister's house to reclaim the expenses of her family home in Redditch ...

LindyHemming · 25/08/2011 08:50

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Andrewofgg · 25/08/2011 10:31

Beyond belief. Jacqui's last wet fart on all of us. And not only found in the Daily Hate Mail - other papers have it too.

ghostofstalbans · 25/08/2011 10:33

i saw this on the news and it did make me laugh

TwoIfBySea · 25/08/2011 10:42

Labour really are just Tories in a different colour.

Time to cut the expenses budget? Nope, they all got an extra £4m in the pot this year. MPs should be brought to task not allowed more money.

Pigs at the trough.

TwoIfBySea · 25/08/2011 10:42

Labour really are just Tories in a different colour.

Time to cut the expenses budget? Nope, they all got an extra £4m in the pot this year. MPs should be brought to task not allowed more money.

Pigs at the trough.

RebelFromTheWaistDown · 25/08/2011 10:45

I think it's a good idea. A charity will benefit from the work after all.

Cheeseandharps · 25/08/2011 13:14

"Speaking on an LBC radio programme, she was guest presenting, Miss Smith...insisted the prisoners 'didn't have anything else on'."

Did she mean they weren't busy, or were they in a state of undress? I hope no-one was, erm, filming that.

JosieRosie · 25/08/2011 13:18

at Cheeseandharps

I can't really get worked up about this story. Lots of people, especially in the last couple of weeks, have been talking about what an appropriate thing it is to get prisoners to do - work in the community painting, decorating, mending, fixing, whatever. They did some painting work for her and she made a donation to their charity in return. I don't really see a problem.

MrsMellowDrummer · 25/08/2011 13:30

I think it's an ok idea. As long as she paid the charity a decent amount (ie, what it would have cost her to have somebody else do it), and as long as other people in her community are also able to take advantage of this kind of scheme.

If not, then it's a bit dubious though.

TheCrackFox · 25/08/2011 13:39

"They didn't have anything else on" - were there really no hospitals, schools, GP practices, elderly people who really need their home redecorating in her local area?? Seems rather unlikely.

She paid for their services with plants from her garden. Using your own money is apparently for the little people.

CherylWillBounceBack · 25/08/2011 15:19

YABU. This woman is a paragon of virtue, as her home flipping and husband's adult movie watching antics are testament to.

Shame on you to question her ethics.

alemci · 25/08/2011 15:29

it would have been far better if they had decorated someone's house who was elderly or widowed for example. She can easily pay a decorator. Makes be cross. MP's seem to be so cheapskate.

Scaevola · 25/08/2011 15:29

It shows a dreadful lack of judgement.

In some positions you need to be beyond reproach (which is why eg employees and their families cannot enter certain public competitions run by their employer). It's a scandal that she held office without realising this.

The standards in public life during that period were just appalling - as also evidenced by the MPs expenses scandals.

I'm not sure the "clean up" has been anywhere near thorough enough yet.

Flip