Shamed Oaten to quit as MP

By JAMES CHAPMAN, Daily Mail

Last updated at 07:46 26 July 2006


Disgraced Liberal Democrat MP Mark Oaten last night announced he is to quit politics following the revelations about his six-month affair with a male prostitute.

The former leadership candidate ended speculation about his political future by saying he will not contest his Winchester seat at the next General Election.

Pressure on Mr Oaten to step aside intensified following a disastrous result at May's local elections, which saw his party lose control of the city's council.

Defeated Liberal Democrats blamed the poor showing on the revelations about the married MP's encounters with a rent boy.

The scandal emerged in January, forcing Mr Oaten to resign as his party's home affairs spokesman.

Days earlier, he had quit the leadership contest for his party, citing a lack of support from colleagues.

Confirming his intention to quit, Mr Oaten said: 'At the next election I will have served over 12 years as an MP and having spoken to my wife Belinda, we feel it will be the right time for us to take on new challenges.'

Human rights focus

He intended to focus on human rights and Third World development issues, he added.

Mr Oaten pledged to give his 'full support' to the party and the parliamentary candidates who will contest Winchester, which is to be split into two constituencies at the next election.

Liberal Democrat chief whip Paul Burstow said: 'Mark has always been a hard working MP representing the interests of his constituents since first being elected to Parliament in 1997.'

Mr Oaten, 42, and his wife, who married 14 years ago, have been the focus of intense media coverage since the scandal broke.

Mrs Oaten, 38, told how she had thrown her wedding ring at her husband and threw him out when he finally admitted what had happened. The couple, who have two children, are attempting to rebuild their relationship.

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