WINCHESTER MP Mark Oaten confessed to his wife Belinda that he was "finished" when reporters turned up outside their Bramdean home to confront him about sordid sex allegations.

Mrs Oaten revealed the intimate conversation in an interview in the current edition of glossy magazine, Hello!

Mrs Oaten, 38, who had previously kept tight-lipped about the allegations in the News of the World, said the shock news was a complete surprise.

Then, she revealed, her emotions towards her husband turned to anger.

"I took off my rings and threw them at him and told him never to come back and I hit him about three times. I'd lost all respect for him," she told the magazine.

She added that she flew to Austria with the couple's two daughters, only returning when the worst of the media frenzy had passed.

She then began tentative steps to reconcile things with her husband of 13 years, spending short periods of time with him.

She added that, on his suggestion, they went to see a marriage counsellor, which they have been doing for two months.

"I was very anxious about it. But I think we are beginning to resolve our problems," she said.

The Oatens have since been on a family holiday with their children to Disney World in Florida.

The Chronicle tried to contact Mrs Oaten at the family home, but was told she would not comment about the interview.

Last week, Mr Oaten's office in Westminster denied any knowledge of his wife giving a magazine interview, following media speculation. Nobody in his office was available to comment further this week.

Hello! stated that Mrs Oaten would be making a donation to Naomi House Children's Hospice following the interview.