Westminster love rat insists flirting is fine

A TORY MP who abandoned his cancer-stricken wife for another woman has risked fresh controversy by saying there is nothing wrong with politicians indulging in ‘mild flirtation or a degree of tactile palliness’.

James Gray said those found guilty of rape or sexual harassment had to be punished. But ‘real complaints by genuine victims’ were diminished by being lumped together with ‘low-level skuttlebut’.

The North Wiltshire MP said: ‘Serious offences should not be muddled with mild flirtation, or even a degree of tactile palliness. None of this stuff helps the proper government of the country, nor our tense negotiations with the EU.’

Mr Gray came under fire after he had an affair with his secretary Philippa Mayo – who he went on to marry – while his then-wife Sarah was having chemotherapy for breast cancer.