In February 2009, The Mail on Sunday reported that the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, had listed her constituency home in Redditch, Worcestershire as her second home, whilst designating a house she shared with her sister in London as her main home, despite sometimes spending as little as two nights there, allowing her to claim £116,000 in additional Cost Allowance over several years. A key aspect in the debate was the fact that Smith, as Home Secretary, was eligible for a "grace and favour" home in Westminster, and therefore did not need to claim expenses to live with her sister.

After the residents of the house next-door to Smith's sister complained to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, stating that Smith may only stay there for three nights a week, he requested that Smith explain her arrangements.

A month after allegations were made against Smith's second home arrangements, the Sunday Express revealed that Smith had claimed as parliamentary expenses for two Pay-TV pornographic films her husband, Richard Timney, had watched while she was away. Smith and her husband both apologised for the error, and Smith said she would pay back the claim. This, coupled with the previous allegation, led to mounting pressure of Smith to resign, but the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, gave her his full support, before proposing alterations to the existing expenses system.

In April 2009, Smith came under increasing pressure after yet further questions were raised about her expenses by the Mail on Sunday. The newspaper suggested that Smith had claimed for several items that were supposed to allow her to "perform her duties as an MP", including a toothbrush, a patio heater, a barbecue, a flat-screen TV and a bath plug costing 89p. On 2 June 2009, she announced she would stand down at the Cabinet reshuffle on 5 June 2009.