Lembit Opik defends new relationship

Lembit Opik has defended his new relationship with his 21-year-old PA.

The former Lib Dem MP said that only an "utter bigot" would question his relationship with student Merily McGivern, and insisted that the age difference does not matter.

He told Hello: "It's an accident of fate that I was born in 1965 and Merily in 1989, and only an utter bigot would hold that against us."

McGivern revealed that her family and friends were initially hesitant when she told them about her 45-year-old boyfriend, but added that Opik soon won them round.

"When my dad found out I was dating Lembit, he googled him and wasn't happy," she said. "But he calmed down and as soon as they met they got on really well.

"It was the same with my friends; they judged Lembit on his public image, and were very pleasantly surprised on meeting him. Lembit is a very different person to the way he's portrayed in the media."

McGivern also said that Opik is her first serious boyfriend, adding: "I've had casual relationships, but nothing that's really meant anything before this. I'd never even taken a man home to meet my parents before Lembit."

According to McGivern, the first thing that Opik said to her was: "I'm really famous, you know." However, she added that the comment was made "in an ironic way".

The ex-Montgomeryshire MP has previously been romantically involved with weathergirl Sian Lloyd, Cheeky Girl Gabriela Irimia and lingerie model Katie Green.