Empty apology from Jacqui Smith

Reading the Telegraph online I noted that Simon Heffer started his piece with a great turn of phrase: he used the words "When I surveyed the spectacle of Jacqui Smith winning the Nobel Prize for Insincerity on Monday ... " Yes, absolutely right Mr Heffer, it made me cringe that's for sure. She only did the sorry bit because she was told she had to and technically it might have been an apology but it certainly didn't sound heartfelt to me. In the end she owned up to the fact that in one year at least she was spending more nights at the constituency home in Redditch rather than her sister's house in London. She kicked off in her all of 1 minute 59 seconds of apology by saying it was a mistake that she had included the cost of films in with her expenses (this included those porn films that her husband watched it will be recalled) and that she had repaid this sum of money. Oh well done Jacqui, you're a star - not. She of course could easily afford to repay the relatively minor cost of the film hire and no doubt she was hoping that once repaid perhaps people would forget that little mistake. Er, sorry Jacqui but no, people won't forget that one.

A bit late on she went on to point out that she hadn't 'flipped' properties. A totally irrelevant comment to make Ms Smith. Nobody was suggesting you were, your misdemeanour was never about that, unlike some of your colleagues so why mention it. You don't get a gold star for that. And so it went on. She has been found guilty so far as at least part of her expenses claim is concerned, she has had little option but to admit to that yet she has not been required to repay any money. It is an absolute disgrace and I'm looking forward to her getting booted out of Parliament at the next General Election.