I'm no cat burglar, insists MP's wife

The wife of an MP accused of stealing his lover's kitten claims to have no recollection of taking the animal despite being captured doing so on CCTV.

Christine Hemming, 53, the wife of Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming, told Birmingham Crown Court that she "had no intention" of taking the cat from the home of Emily Cox.

She admitted going to Ms Cox's house on the night in question, but said she was dropping off items of post for her husband. Mrs Hemming told jurors: "I didn't know there was a cat in the property... I have no recollection of taking the cat, and I tried my best to return the cat when it dawned on me that I had it."

Mrs Hemming denies burgling Ms Cox's home in Moseley, Birmingham, on 29 September last year. The trial continues.