British Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith faces fresh allegations today over misuse of public funds relating to the employment of his wife as a secretary.
An investigative journalist who handed a dossier of claims about Ms Betsy Duncan Smith's job to a parliamentary standards watchdog on Monday is expected to submit further papers.
The claims, which Mr Duncan Smith denies, come at a critical time for the leader who faces a possible plot from members of his own party to oust him.
In a statement released to the press, Mr Duncan Smith "totally" rejected claims he was guilty of "financial wrongdoing in the employment of my wife as a diary secretary after I became Conservative Party leader".
He said his wife had worked "considerably longer hours" than the 25 hours a week her employment contract of October 1997 required. She often worked at weekends and in the evenings after the couple's children had gone to bed.
"She was paid no more than 15,000 pounds until she ceased her job on December 31, 2002 and in the last year received a total of 11,000 pounds," the statement said.
MPs receive public funding for the employment of researchers and secretarial help and it is not particularly unusual for these positions to be undertaken by family members or friends.