John Whittingdale says he ended a 2014 relationship he had with a woman when he found out she was a dominatrix:

“Between August 2013 and February 2014, I had a relationship with someone who I first met through Match.com. She was a similar age and lived close to me. At no time did she give me any indication of of her real occupation and I only discovered this when I was made aware that someone was trying to sell a story about me to tabloid newspapers. As soon as I discovered, I ended the relationship.

This is an old story which was a bit embarrassing at the time. The events occurred long before I took up my present position and it has never had any influence on the decisions I have made as Culture Secretary.”

There is no suggestion that Whittingdale, a single man who did not know about his lover’s extra-curricular activities, has done anything wrong. Ironic that this story is being pushed deliriously by the Hacked Off brigade usually so keen on keeping politicians’ embarrassing personal lives secret…