MP's betrayed wife denies kitten burglary

BIRMINGHAM, England, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- The wife of a British member of Parliament pleaded not guilty Monday to stealing a kitten from the home of his mistress.

Christine Hemming, 52, apologized for the public expense of the proceedings when she appeared in Birmingham Crown Court, the BBC reported.

She is charged with a Sept. 29 break-in at the home of Emily Cox, with whom John Hemming, the Liberal Democrat MP for Birmingham Yardley, fathered a child in 2005.

Hemming's trial was scheduled for June. Her husband has posted a picture of the cat, called Beauty, on his Web site.