SHAMED Winchester MP, Mark Oaten, remained silent this week on the issue of whether he would be standing again at the next election.

He has confirmed, however, that he does not want to return to front-line politics.

The 43-year-old politician said on Tuesday, during a programme he made for national television, that he was at a "crossroads" in his life.

The BBC's 10-minute Newsnight broadcast examined some of the reasons behind why he had, in his own words, "pressed the self-destruct button".

The Liberal Democrat MP, who has served the city for nine years and lives in Bramdean, resigned as home affairs spokesman after revelations of an affair with a male prostitute.

In the programme, he said he did not blame any journalist for "what had happened" and said he had been the "author of his own destruction".

Talking to the Hampshire Chronicle, Mr Oaten said he had long wanted to produce a film and had enjoyed the BBC experience. He also said it was a "useful" look at the pattern of people who go into politics and the pressures that come with the job.

He added that he was much happier than he had been before and "understood a lot more about himself". He also said he was enjoying getting more exercise and spending more time with his family.