Tory chairman gives new meaning to 'The Nanny State'...

Tory Party chairman Caroline Spelman has admitted paying her nanny from the public purse but says she has done nothing wrong.

But if the MP who was tasked by David Cameron to clean up the Tory image on parliamentary allowances is innocent, she quickly needs to produce the evidence to back up Tory HQ claims that the 'nanny' actually worked six hours a day as Ms Spelman's constituency secretary.

The nanny herself made it clear in a BBC interview that she was employed as nanny to Ms Spelman's children and in that capacity occasionally answered the phone or dealt with the post.

That's a long, long way from six hours a day!

So who's telling the truth...?

If the Meriden MP is innocent, she will surely be able to produce the paperwork that will clear her name.

Until then, as ITN says, these latest disclosures are 'another blow to the integrity of the Conservative Party'