Hayes fights to save political career

Jerry Hayes, the Tory MP for Harlow, was fighting for his career last night after admitting to a close relationship with an 18-year-old homosexual.

Although he denied claims in the News of the World that the relationship with his former researcher Paul Stone was sexual, indiscreet letters and the fact that he secured a Commons security pass for him left Mr Hayes in a vulnerable position.

Mr Stone said he met Mr Hayes in 1991 at a meeting ofthe Stonewall gay pressure group. There followed a series of meetings, including nights at hotels. Mr Hayes admitted paying for rooms but insisted they always stayed separately. The relationship ended in 1993.

Yesterday Mr Hayes, 43, went on holiday with his wife, Alison, and their two children. Before leaving he told the paper the relationship was entirely Platonic. "There was a boundary I told him I would never cross, even though that's what he wanted ... Looking back, I made a very stupid mistake. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before and nothing has since. It was the most strange and turbulent time of my life. I just didn't understand the feelings I was having. I have a happy and loving marriage ... yet I knew these affections ... were becoming unhealthy and I knew that some day soon it would have to stop."

Last night there were signs senior Conservatives wanted him to tough out the crisis, even though it comes in the middle of John Major's latest attempt to claim the moral high ground.

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