IN REPLY to Labour MP Andrew Smith (a man with wife secretary and office staff) on wrongful claims.

I never thought I’d live to see the day Labour MP Andrew Smith confessed to making three wrongful expenses claims between 2004-2008 (Oxford Mail, June 20, ‘Smith pleased he went public’).

Before my four day trial in 2007 in Oxford Crown Court, Mr Smith said I should resign.

I spoke the truth in court in that I had made a mistake in 2002 by forgetting to put earnings on one of two forms during a time of illness, with severe stomach pains and vertigo.

I went through hell and humiliation, especially since everyone knew I was an abandoned wife with three children for many years.

Never once did I contemplate fraud.

I concentrated on working hard as a county councillor and undergraduate.

It was clear to see that having started from college to cadet nurse, age 17, and throughout my nursing profession, I was law-abiding and would never, as a grandmother, cheat on taxpayers.

Mr Smith is admitting guilt on three wrongful claims. He should be prosecuted and resign now.

OLIVE MCINTOSH-STEDMAN, Williamson Way, Rose Hill, Oxford