MP James Purnell has become embroiled in another ‘faking it’ row after one of his aides sent a bogus letter to the Advertiser.

Mike Doherty, a constituency worker based in Mr Purnell’s office, wrote criticising Tory leader, Councillor John Bell, for branding Labour hopeful Claire Francis ‘Miss Pushy’ during the town’s district assembly meeting.

Mr Doherty wrote to express his disgust at the comments, calling for Mr Bell to make a ‘public apology for his act of immaturity’.

The letter, printed last week, said: "To be called pushy for fighting for our rights as a Werneth resident, by someone who is paid to act in that capacity speaks volumes for the apparent disregard he holds for electors."

Mr Doherty claimed to be a resident of Foxholes Road, Werneth instead of admitting he was an employee of Mr Purnell’s based in his Hyde Town Hall office.

Eagle-eyed Conservative councillors in the area checked the electoral roll and discovered nobody with the name of Mike Doherty lives on Foxholes Road.

Councillor Bell said: "I don’t mind complaints about me but when it’s a contrived sitiuation I find it immoral.

"Particularly coming out of James Purnell’s office when it’s only a few months ago they were forced to admit they knew he would be superimposed on a photo at Tameside Hospital after turning up late.

"Again they are duping the public. I just hope the public will see through it. It is another example of political sleaze and illustrates the dirty tricks the Labour party will stoop to. How far will they sink to score a political point?"

When confronted with the allegations, Mr Doherty admitted writing the bogus letter.

He said: "I apologise for doing this. I wrote the letter in my own time out of sheer frustration as I could not believe that Councillor Bell made such a comment in a public forum. I realise that this was the wrong thing to do."

l Mr Purnell, MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, was mauled in the press last year after his picture was digitally added to a photoshoot at Tameside Hospital to give the appearance he had been there.

When the news of the doctored photograph broke, pensions secretary Mr Purnell — who previously slammed media spin — said he was not aware of the addition.

But a spokeswoman later admitted an email explaining about the ‘doctored’ photograph had been sent by the hospital to his constituency e-mail address two days before.

See a reply to the controversial letter on this week’s Readers’ Letters on page 18.