LONDON — A scandal over lawmakers' expenses threatened to overwhelm Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government on Tuesday, as his minister for security and police prepared to quit and the future of several other senior figures was in doubt.
Brown is coping with a raft of resignations after embarrassing details of lawmakers' expenses leaked out, and is expected to fire some senior ministers in response to public anger.
Lawmakers from all parties have expensed items ranging from cookies and cushions to horse manure, swimming pool repairs and bogus home loan payments, outraging ordinary Britons suffering through a deep recession and soaring unemployment.
The scandal threatens to sweep a host of veterans out of Brown's Cabinet before a national election that must be held by June 2010. Experts predict scores of veteran lawmakers from all parties will be tossed out in that election, which the opposition Conservatives are expected to win. A survey Monday put Brown's beleaguered Labour Party 22 points behind the Conservatives.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has been criticized after she inadvertently included two pornographic movies ordered by her husband in an expenses claim. She also faced allegations that she manipulated Parliament's housing allowance system to maximize the amount she received.
A government official said Smith planned to quit as Home Secretary — one of the most senior posts in the British government — but continue to serve as a lawmaker. The official, who requested anonymity because Smith has not yet officially announced her departure, said she decided to quit because revelations over her expenses had been unsettling for her family.
Smith's decision comes days before Brown is expected to reassign roles in his Cabinet.
Treasury chief Alistair Darling, a pivotal figure during the economic crisis, has acknowledged he made mistakes in his own expenses claims and could be moved from his post. Darling said Monday he would repay about 700 pounds ($1,150) after he charged simultaneous expenses on two homes. Parliament limits lawmakers to claims on only one property.
Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon and Communities Secretary Hazel Blears are also under pressure after they repaid expenses checks and acknowledged mistakes.
Beverley Hughes, a junior schools minister, said Tuesday she will quit, but claimed the decisions was not connected to the scandal. She has been criticized over filing expense claims to pay for a maid.
British media reported that junior minister Tom Watson, a longtime aide to Brown, also planned to quit.
"It is just falling apart. Is the prime minister in control or not, people are going to be asking," Conservative Party lawmaker Ben Wallace said on BBC radio.
About 15 other lawmakers have said they won't run for re-election since details of legislators' expenses have been published.
Brown is likely to make changes to his Cabinet following expected poor results in elections Thursday for Britain's representatives to the European Parliament, as well as for about 2,300 seats on local councils.
Conservative Party leader David Cameron has demanded that Brown call an immediate national election to give the public a chance to oust lawmakers who have made inappropriate claims.
"They are not actually governing the country, they are not dealing with the economy ... we need a fresh start," he told the BBC.
By tradition, Brown's office declined to comment Tuesday on the future of Smith or other Cabinet ministers.
Smith's position was precarious even before disclosures over her expenses. She failed to push proposed reforms to anti-terrorism laws through Parliament, ignored advice from her own scientific advisers on drug laws and clashed with London's mayor over the future of the city's police commissioner.