Expenses scandal forced couple to quit parliament

Mr Mackay, MP for Bracknell, was the first to declare that he would stand down at the next general election as a result of the row, stating back in May that he did not want to become a "distraction" to his party.

Ms Kirkbride followed suit some months later, a decision that will mean the couple will be seeking alternative employment by the time the next government is formed.

For both it marks the end of a career in Parliament that saw them rise to shadow cabinet positions before fading to the back benches.

Ms Kirkbride was one of only five new female Conservative MPs when she was elected to represent Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, in 1997.

The woman chosen for the safe Tory seat was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and went to a local grammar school before heading to Cambridge University.

Ms Kirkbride, 49, gained an MA in economics and history at Girton College and went to the Graduate School of Journalism of the University of California Berkeley in 1982/83 after a spell working for the Parliamentary Weekly House Magazine.

In 1983 she became a researcher for Yorkshire Television and went on to work as a producer for BBC News and Current Affairs and then the ITN Parliamentary Unit.

She was a political correspondent for the Daily Telegraph from 1992 to 1996 during which time her then partner Stephen Milligan, the Conservative MP for Eastleigh, was found dead at his home.

Mr Milligan, who was wearing stockings at the time of his death, was thought to have died when an autoerotic experience went tragically wrong.

Ms Kirkbride remained dignified during the tragedy and went on to become social affairs editor of the Sunday Telegraph from 1996 until 1997 when she became an MP.

It was in that year that she married Mr MacKay, the Conservative MP for Bracknell, in Berkshire.

Twelve years her senior, Mr Mackay had already established himself as a constituency MP.

Having entered parliament as member for Birmingham Stechford through a by-election in 1977, he lost the seat two years later.

But he returned as MP for East Berkshire in the 1983 election, representing Bracknell since the creation of the seat in 1997.

Under William Hague he became shadow spokesman for Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, his wife's political career began to gain momentum, becoming opposition spokeswoman for culture, media and sport between November 2003 and September 2004.

But she lost the job during a reshuffle by then leader Michael Howard.

Mr Mackay later became David Cameron's Parliamentary aide.

But he was forced to step down from the post following the revelation that he drew down tens of thousands of pounds in allowances by declaring as his second home the London property he shares with his wife.

She in turn declared that address as her main residence so that she could claim second home allowances on their only other property, in Bromsgrove.

Ms Kirkbride was also initially told to repay 2,584.26 of mortgage interest on an extension built so her brother could provide childcare, but this was overturned on appeal.

It is not the first time that the former journalist's parliamentary activities have come under scrutiny.

In November 2006 she admitted previously undisclosed links with the Midlands Industrial Council (MIC) - which had donated millions of pounds to the Conservative party - after an investigation by the BBC's Politics Show.

Ms Kirkbride confirmed she was the "link person" between the MIC and the Conservative Party in Parliament but said that she had neither given nor received any money from the MIC, which was why her involvement was not listed.

The couple have a nine-year-old son, Angus.