First picture of Spelman nanny

WHEELING a baby in a pram, this is the first picture of the nanny who landed Tory party chairman Caroline Spelman in a political storm.

We tracked down Tina Haynes, 36, to a secret address where she has been HIDING from the storm over claims her ex-boss paid for her childcare with public money.

The MP insists the live-in nanny also helped with constituency secretarial work. But Mrs Haynes' father-in-law yesterday laughed off the idea.

John Haynes,79, told us: "Tina's being stitched up. It's bloody RIDICULOUS to say she was an MP's secretary. She has no idea how to be a secretary or do secretarial work

"She has only ever worked as a nanny since I've known her. That's all she knows." His comments cast fresh doubt over Mrs Spelman's account of why she paid her nanny with taxpayers' money for nearly two years.

They will also send shock waves around Westminster, where MPs are already reeling from the news that an anti-sleaze probe into the affair is now under way.

The nanny, who disappeared from her home in Longbridge, Birmingham, a week ago is now staying in Solihull ten miles away. Tina was stunned when we confronted her there, asking: "How did you find me?"

She refused to answer questions, adding: "I'm not prepared to say anything." Then she retreated into the house, closing the curtains.

But her dad-in-law John, a retired Rover assembly-line worker, warned: "She needs to be careful she doesn't get led by the nose into a situation she can't cope with. Caroline Spelman was a guest at her wedding and I think Tina has ambitions."

Each evening Tina's husband Matthew, a car worker, drives to see his wife before returning alone late at night to their semi-detached home in Longbridge.

After the story broke, the nanny issued a statement saying her duties included "providing secretarial help" for the MP. Now Ms Haynes may have to prove she has basic secretarial skills before Parliamentary Commissioner Sir John Lyon, who is examining whether Mrs Spelman broke Parliamentary rules.

A Tory spokesman said: "Caroline has made it clear she will co-operate fully with the inquiry and will supply all the necessary information."