FULL WILSHIRE COVERAGE - CLICK HERE

Instead his response to revelations he channelled £105,000 of his office and staffing allowances into his own company, Moorlands Research Services, came in the form of bullet points in an email attachment.

In it he denied he ever profited from the firm, in which his girlfriend, Ann Palmer, was the sole partner, and insisted he filed annual accounts.

He also said it wasn't a legal requirement for a partnership to register its business and said the firm, which folded last year, was fully registered and confirmed in writing with Parliament and completely within the rules.

His explanations, though, cut little ice with Conservative leader David Cameron, who said Mr Wilshire's decision to stand down was the "right one".

Mr Wilshire, 66, had spent last Thursday, the day the story was splashed across a national newspaper, locked in talks with Tory whips over the scandal after reporting himself to the parliamentary commissioner.

But in the evening he issued a statement which read: "I am confident that he [the commissioner] will confirm that I have done nothing wrong.

"That said, I am very conscious that the allegations and investigation will cause great distress to my family and friends. These allegations also run the risk of harming my local party and our national party's chances of winning at the next general election... I have reluctantly concluded that it is sensible for me not to seek re-election next year."

Spelthorne Tories have blamed the media for hounding out David Wilshire.

Showing continued loyalty to the MP, Spelthrone Conservatives chairman Graeme Reid said: "It's a sad day. But the media has its own agenda and sometimes you have to pay the price for things that on the face of it might not be clear cut.

"He has voluntarily put his case before the commissioner and should be given the chance to exonerate himself. He has not been found guilty of anything. He has served the Conservatives well."

Asked if Mr Wilshire had made the right decision morally, Mr Reid said: "It's difficult to say whether morals come into it.

"There are standards in public life and you have to be beyond reproach. It's not a standard many people outside politics would be able to live up to."

Fury over Mr Wilshire's expenses has been rising ever since the scandal broke in the Summer, but Mr Reid disagreed the resignation was unsurprising.

"I don't agree the writing has been on the wall. It's something that cropped up last week. These things happen."

Mr Reid said the party would now be sifting through applications from potential successors but could not give a time scale regarding the new appointment, adding: "This has to be done properly."

Fellow Tory John Packman, leader of Spelthorne Council, said: "We all need to remember David Wilshire has been an excellent MP for 22 years, serving all residents in a very dedicated, hard working and conscientious way which has been truly recognised by people from all political associations from Spelthorne. That should not be forgotten.

"I'm sorry to see him go but in view of the allegations it was the honourable and proper thing to do. I commend him for that."

POLITICAL rivals are demanding David Wilshire steps down as Spelthorne MP now, rather than at the next election.

Mark Chapman, the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Spelthorne, said: "I think it's very sad residents will be left a lame duck MP for the next ten months. A lot of people would expect him to go now."

Mr Chapman, who called Mr Wilshire's decision "inevitable", said a Liberal Democrat representative would be more "transparent" over their affairs than Mr Wilshire.

He added: "David Wilshire has been conspicuous by his absence during this scandal and Mps need to be more available. And I would certainly not claim for a second home living so close to London."

Grahame # Leon-Smith is the founder member of the Senior Citizens Party, who will also stand next year. He said: "He (Mr Wilshire) seems to be the worst of the lot. There should be people in politics who are honest and give straight answers."

Labour councillor for Stanwell Victor Agarwal said: "The money should be repaid either to a Spelthorne fund or back into the public purse.

Even a fellow Tory criticised Mr Wilshire, with Spelthorne Councillor Malcolm Royer quoted in the Daily Telegraph as saying: "He should do the honourable thing and pay the money back. He's never lived in the borough for 20 years. It's not been good enough for him but it's been good enough to be his cash cow.

PRESSURE on Mr Wilshire has been intense ever since the the expenses scandal first came to light in May this year.

His constituents were furious at claims he clawed back £438,377 between 2005-2008, making him the sixth-highest claiming MP in the land, and his admittance he claimed further expenses for travel from his home in Somerset further irked voters.

The revelations kept coming and, weeks later, it was revealed he'd struck an unusual arrangement with the fees office whereby he was paid a monthly fund of £150 for three years for decorations and repairs to his London flat "sometime in the future".

The clamour for him to hold a public meeting in Spelthorne grew stronger when his full expenses were made available online and revealed he had claimed, among other things, the maximum amount in petty cash last year, hundreds of pounds on food and printing ink and over £1,000 for a new cupboard, which he said constituted a repair.

Having told the Herald he had never claimed for furniture in his London flat, constituents believed he had misled them. But Mr Wilshire continued to insist he had done nothing wrong, saying Herald & News reporters had confused furnishing with repairs.

Ex-colleagues then rounded on him, with one labelling him "The Seldom Seen Kid" for his seeming lack of interest and visits to a borough in which he has never lived.

A group of staunch Spelthorne Tories, The Conservative Unity Group, formed two months ago with the intention of ousting Mr Wilshire from office who, by this time, was embroiled in a war of words with readers in the Herald & News letters page. The CUG had pledged to provide opposition to Mr Wilshire at the next election following his initial refusal to resign.

Mr Wilshire will stand down after a 22 year career in which he has often courted controversy, most notably for his introduction of the Section 28 local government bill, which made it illegal for local authorities to "promote homosexuality or ... promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality". The bill was eventually repealed in 2003 after a string of protests.

He also supported a third runway at Heathrow, opposed the minimum wage and the Good Friday Agreement and was against bans on smoking an hunting.

Last week it was reported Mr Wilshire told journalism students his 60-70 hour weeks meant his £64,000 salary was dangerously close to the minimum wage.

ADAM COURTNEY was with David Wilshire on the day the expenses scandal broke and hours before the MP announced his resignation...

What a day for "The Seldom Seen Kid", as he is branded by some former colleagues, to organise a foray into his constituency.

Having dealt with the Summer storm caused by his expenses by using a mixture of silence and denial, David Wilshire must have thought a morning doing the rounds in Spelthorne with the Herald & News in tow was another step in his attempts to sweep the debris of his claims files under the carpet. How wrong he was.

Looking dishevelled after a night, no doubt, of fending off calls from the national media, I first caught up with him at the London Irish training ground in Sunbury, where he had arranged a briefing with bosses over the club's move across the village.

Having sent an invitation for me to join him days previously, Mr Wilshire seemed strangely reluctant to have me in the room. After being kept waiting outside for about 20 minutes, his assistant scurried over and told me I'd be allowed in on the strict condition there'd be no questions on the scandal. A prepared statement was thrust into my hand and I was ushered in, I thought, to hear his opinions on Irish's move, which is currently one of the biggest news stories in the borough. He must have had other things on his mind, because he didn't have any.

After ten minutes, he thanked me for my "understanding", and I was off to his next port of call, Sunbury Fire Station, but not before having to fend off a call from a BBC news crew about the whereabouts of a man who seemed to be the hottest ticket in town.

Half an hour later, arrived at the station where he met the chief, not to apply for a job (he specialises in fighting political fires) but to talk about the future of the service. After shutting the door on me to reassure the chief I wouldn't cause any "embarrassment" by asking expenses questions, I was in, but it was clear by this point Mr Wilshire was beginning to regret inviting me and, after a further failed attempt at getting him to talk about the expenses after the briefing, I left.

I'll be back on our shared patch very soon but it's anyone's guess when "The Seldom Seen Kid" will return.