Former British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, who got embroiled in an expenses' scandal in the
last Labour government, has courted controversy again -- this time for lobbying for a top BBC job to replace Indian-origin Chitra Bharucha as vice-chairman of the Corporation's Trust.
The former minister, who famously charged British taxpayers for the cost of watching two pornographic films, has applied for the post as Bharucha is stepping down at the end of October; the plum position pays 77,000 pounds a year for a
two-and-a-half-day week, the 'Daily Mail' reported.
Last month, Bharucha, who is deputy to Chairman Sir Michael Lyons, was at the centre of her own expenses furore when it was revealed that she had claimed back the cost of a 'Sky TV' subscription from the BBC. It's part of 60,000 pounds of claims made by 12 members of the trust in just six months.
A BBC source told the British newspaper that there had been "a certain degree of surprise" when 47-year-old Smith's CV arrived two weeks ago. "I am not sure she is quite what we are looking for at a time when we are desperately trying to repair our own battered image," the source said.
When contacted by the newspaper, Smith asked: "How did you know that I had applied? I have made an application, that's all I know."
The deadline for applications for the vice-chairman's post expired last week. An announcement about the successful candidate is expected to be made by the end of the summer.