Guilty, the MP's wife who stole her love rival's kitten

An MP's wife caught on CCTV stealing a kitten from the home of her husband's lover has been found guilty of burglary.

Jurors at Birmingham Crown Court took just over five hours to convict Christine Hemming, 53, who snatched the cat three days after separating from Liberal Democrat John Hemming.

CCTV footage of the offence, on 29 September last year, shows Mrs Hemming crawling on her hands and knees underneath a window before sneaking into the home of Emily Cox.

Mrs Hemming had denied the charge, claiming she could not remember taking the four-month-old kitten, named Beauty. She told the jury of six men and six women that she had visited the property in Moseley, Birmingham, to deliver post to her husband.

She was bailed to appear at Birmingham Crown Court on 28 October, when she will be sentenced.