IDS scotches expenses rumours

With Tories gathering for their vital annual conference in Blackpool, party leader Iain Duncan Smith moved to quash rumours surrounding his personal affairs.

Reports of alleged improprieties in the handling of his parliamentary expenses were "false lies", the Tory leader said.

He said that he would sue any publication which aired the allegations.

Mr Duncan Smith told BBC1's Breakfast with Frost: "If anybody makes such allegations, I will sue them.

"I have a whole legal team who have been looking at this and I can tell you absolutely that they will find themselves with a law-suit."

Earlier, Conservative Central Office said: "The allegations about Iain's employment of personal staff are totally false.

"Since these rumours started circulating around a week ago, Iain has been consulting his lawyers.

"He intends to take legal action against those who have published the allegations. Anyone who repeats the allegations will be sued for defamation."

Reports today suggested that BBC2's Newsnight had carried out an investigation into claims made to its journalists about Mr Duncan Smith. The programme has not yet broadcast any story as a result of the supposed investigation.

A spokesman for the BBC said: "At any time a number of stories are being worked on by the Newsnight team, but we do not discuss that sort of work in progress."

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