The story behind Jacqui Smith’s exit

Friends of Jacqui Smith are insisting her departure is not part of a coordinated Blair Babe walk-out from government to precipitate the downfall of Gordon Brown (Patricia Hewitt and Beverley Hughes announced today that they were standing down as MPs at the next election ).

This is much more about the first, longest suffering victim of the expenses saga.

The Commons is a gloomy, paranoid place at the moment but MPs have the comfort of being able to do some mass, cross-party consolation now as the Daily Telegraph accusations have been hitting every party.

Jacqui Smith was first over the top with accusations about her purchases for her home way before most members of the public knew MPs were entitled to claim so much as a table on their expenses.

She took more flack than anyone and took it on her own.

And then, of course, came the porn channel receipt.

She spoke to Gordon Brown just before Easter about how the strain was too much for her and her family and has since then been a fixed departure in a Cabinet reshuffle in which the other moves are only now taking shape.