Council apologises to protest man

Mr Preston said his campaign would continue

A man behind a petition calling for an MP to quit over expenses has had an apology after being asked to move on from collecting signatures.

Scott Preston, from the Jacqui Must Go Now! group, wants former home secretary Jacqui Smith to resign as an MP for Redditch, Worcestershire.

Redditch Borough Council said an officer wrongly told him to move from a stall by the war memorial in the town.

Ms Smith was criticised for naming her sister's London house as her main home.

She was also criticised over her husband's claim for an adult movie.

She has since paid back the £10 she claimed for the two adult films her husband viewed.

Ms Smith has said she was standing down as home secretary to focus on her constituents and to repay the support her family had given her.

'Sincerely apologise'

The council said Mr Preston should "not have been requested to move his table" from the position he was occupying.

A spokesman said: "Unfortunately our officer incorrectly applied our street trading regulations which only apply to individuals or organisations selling goods or services on the street, which Mr Preston was not doing.

"We sincerely apologise to Mr Preston for this mistake.

"Mr Preston accepted that his posters... amounted to flyposting and he agreed to remove these."

The campaigner said: "We've been subjected to enforcement action by the council who obviously have now backed down."

He added that he would continue with his campaign to persuade Ms Smith to step down as MP for the area.