‘Local support’ for MP over shots bid

In a statement last week, Gloria revealed how she had learned a news agency ‘claiming to be acting on behalf of a national newspaper’ had offered several thousand pounds to somebody in an attempt to get hold of the images. She appealed for “the hunt” for the pictures to be called off.

The Labour MP said she had since been encouraged by backing from constituents and political figures from opposing parties.

She said: “I’ve had some very supportive emails from people who don’t agree with my political views. I think people feel there’s a line and that’s been crossed.”

Gloria, who has recently been promoted to the role of Shadow Women and Equalities Minister, has openly talked before about why she posed for the pictures, believing at the time it was a way of improving her circumstances.

She said: “While I regret it, I know what my 15-year-old self was thinking. It’s part of my story.

“I want to see normal people in politics and normal people do things when they’re young. “

Gloria had earlier been speaking at Shirebrook Academy when she said her biggest concern as a teenager was the way she looked.

She told 15 and 16-year-old pupils: “There is a lot more pressure on girls to look good and we’re judged a lot more on how we look.”

Gloria got five GCSEs and two A-levels at Grade D, at school but later went on achieve a first-class degree. But she told pupils: “I can see your generation has massive dreams and I know you are going to make the Ashfield area great for the future.”

The event was part of the national Speakers for Schools initiative.

However she added: “I can see that your generation has massive dreams and I know that you are going to make the Ashfield area great for the future.”