Millionaire cheat quits job

Millionaire cheat quits job

College lecturer Tecwen Whittock has resigned from his job

A college lecturer convicted of helping an Army major cheat his way to the top prize on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has resigned from his job.

Tecwen Whittock, 53, repeatedly coughed to lead Charles Ingram to the correct answers on the ITV1 quiz.

Whittock, of Whitchurch, Cardiff, Ingram and his wife Diana were found guilty of conspiring to cheat the show by a jury at London's Southwark Crown Court last week and were given suspended prison sentences.

Mr Whittock (has) resigned his position at the college with immediate effect

Pontypridd College spokesman

Whittock was due to face a disciplinary hearing at Pontypridd College, where he was head of business studies, but quit his job before the meeting took place.

He said he needed a fresh start, and thanked the "excellent support" from staff at the college, where he had worked for 25 years.

"I would like to reiterate my innocence and I am actively seeking an appeal against the verdict," he said.

"It is my intention to continue making a positive contribution to the community in the future," he added.

Suspended sentence

A college spokeswoman said: "A formal disciplinary hearing at which Mr Whittock would have had the opportunity to answer the charge of bringing the college into disrepute had been scheduled for Thursday, 17 April.

"However, on 15 April, Mr Whittock resigned his position at the college with immediate effect."

Following the court case, Whittock was given a suspended 12-month sentence, fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £7,500 costs.

The Ingrams, both 39, were each given an 18-month jail sentence suspended for two years.

Ingram and his wife Diana denied cheating

The trio had denied a charge of procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception - £1m on 10 September 2001.

All three have since continued to protest their innocence, with Ingram insisting the series of coughs, which guided him to the £1m jackpot, were a coincidence.

Judge Geoffrey Rivlin QC said the trio had been "shamed in the most public way" and their reputations ruined.

The court heard another contestant and members of the television crew were made suspicious by Whittock's coughing outbreak.

Footage from the show will be screened for the first time in a Tonight With Trevor McDonald special on ITV1 later this month.

The 90-minute documentary will show the previously unseen episode in full.