In solidarity with the comedians who have been lambasted over jokes about the former prime minister, I am not going to mince my words - Jaqui Smith, the home secretary, is a hypocritical disgrace to the country - so mired in corruption and fear-mongering that she personifies everything I hate about politics.

The BBC reports that, after complaints were made about the £116,000 expenses she had claimed on a second home despite claiming that she lived with her sister, Smith has claimed her second home expenses are "above board". This follows her history of voting against transparency in government, whilst consistently voting for the erosion of civil liberties, and heightened surveillance in the name of anti-terrorism.

Her ludicrous double standards make me feel ill - this new scandal is less than a week after she supported the secretive new government database that will track the travel movements of every British citizen.

Smith is hardly a stranger to embarrassing revelations - in 2008 it was discovered that a campaign of letters defending Smith and her identity card policies was actually written by her husband - who receives a £40,000 salary as an advisor to the commons.

Despite admitting to smoking cannabis in the 1970's, "Wacky Jaqui" headed the government review panel that reversed the governments policies by raising cannabis from a class C to a class B drug.

Her voting record has also been exemplary in it's support for authoritarian measures - she spearheaded the campaign for the despicable 42 day detention period without trial. She has stated that police can restrict photography, a major blow for freedom of information, raising the potential for police abuse and totalitarian control. She has lied consistently about the populations support for ID cards as she maintains her cavalier support of such an ill thought-out policy, ignoring public opinion and the many counter arguments.

All of these measures were designed to protect the population from the over-hyped threat of terrorism, and the growing danger from gang violence in the UK, however Smith admits she is uncomfortable walking the streets, suggesting walking on streets at night is not "a thing that people do". She has encouraged the creation of a vigilante police force, another reminder of her fondness for the trappings of totalitarian society.

Her policies smack of the "wilful ignorance" that her colleague Dominic Grieve accuses her of. She is obviously out of touch with the populace - she has been quoted as saying people "can't wait" for ID cards, despite the majority resistance to the proposals. She is so arrogant in her position that she feels she has the right to simultaneously campaign for less transparency in government and more intrusion into the lives of British citizens. She defends her policies by manipulating the populations fear of terrorism, and distorting statistics.

Her recent support for the despicable database to monitor the travel records of citizens comes after the governments repeated failure to protect sensitive information about our identities - identity theft is far more frequent and pervasive than terrorism.

I am sickened by her disregard for the rights of innocent citizens, and her seeming attraction to an orwellian Britain. I hope that in any small remnant of conscience she may still have, she feels shame for the mess she has created, and the corruption she has been embroiled in.