BRITAIN: The British Conservative leader, Mr Iain Duncan Smith, was facing a House of Commons investigation yesterday while attempting to head off a plot to oust him.
Mr Duncan Smith insisted he had done nothing wrong in employing his wife, Betsy, during the first year of his leadership and threatened to sue over newspaper allegations.
Journalist Michael Crick, who made the claims, said he was taking the issue to the Commons Standards Commissioner.
Mr Duncan Smith said he had already intended to ask the commissioner, Sir Philip Mawer, to investigate "so that we can see the full facts and clear this up once and for all.
"I completely and absolutely rebut any allegation about wrong-doing," he said. "These allegations are without foundation and are malicious and I will be contacting the commissioner first thing on Monday morning.
"I have also instructed my lawyers to review the press reports with a view to taking legal action." However, Ms Vanessa Gearson, who used to run Mr Duncan Smith's office, has also taken legal advice.
Mr Crick says an e-mail from Ms Gearson, who is now deputy director of Conservative Central Office, is among the evidence he collected during a five-month investigation into Ms Duncan Smith's role.
Up to 15 of the 25 Tory MPs needed to force a vote of confidence are said to have come forward. But Mr Duncan Smith received a boost yesterday from a new opinion poll which showed the Tories have taken a five-point lead, despite a party conference overshadowed by the plot to depose him.
The survey showed support for the Conservatives had risen from 33 per cent a week ago to 38 per cent, the ruling Labour Party slipped back 1 per cent to 33 per cent, while the Liberal Democrats fell from 26 to 22 per cent, according to the YouGov poll.
Almost a third of voters, 31 per cent, now say he is doing a good job as leader compared with 22 per cent seven days ago. And the Conservatives would do worse under Kenneth Clarke, Michael Howard, Michael Portillo, Oliver Letwin or David Davis, according to the Mail on Sunday.