Hague makes statement on private life to dispel 'untrue allegations'

by Anna Seward

William Hague has spoken about his decision to reveal details about his private life, revealing that he and his wife had "had enough" of allegations being made on the internet.

The foreign secretary issued a statement yesterday (Wednesday), in which he described rumours of an improper relationship with special adviser Christopher Myers as "utterly false".

Mr Myers, 25, was employed by Mr Hague as a constituency aide during the election campaign and subsequently worked for him as a policy adviser.

The pair occasionally shared hotel rooms during the election and Mr Hague believes this may have led to "untrue and malicious allegations" about their relationship.

In a statement to the Press Association, Mr Hague said that they would never have shared a room "if we had thought that it in any way meant or implied something else".

"In hindsight I should have given greater consideration to what might have been made of that, but this is in itself no justification for allegations of this kind, which are untrue and deeply distressing to me, to Ffion and to Christopher."

Mr Hague revealed that Mr Myers has now resigned "as a result of the pressure on his family" and said that it is "a pity that a talented individual should feel that he needs to leave his job in this way".

The foreign secretary then revealed details about his marriage, explaining that the couple "would love to start a family" but have suffered a number of miscarriages, including one earlier this year.

"We are aware that the stress of infertility can often strain a marriage, but in our case, thankfully, it has only brought us closer together," he said.

Today, Mr Hague explained his decision to make such a frank and personal statement, admitting that it was "not an easy thing to do".

He said: "My wife and I really felt we had had enough of the circulation of untrue allegations, particularly on the internet, and at some point you have to speak out about that and put the record straight."

Prime minister David Cameron is on paternity leave, but Downing Street confirmed that Mr Hague still has his "100 per cent support".