After David Willetts attempt to claim women's icon Bridget Jones as "a Tory at heart because she eventually wants to settle down", the fictional female's creator hits back.

Helen Fielding writes to the Telegraph denying the claim.

"Bloody cheek", she says, noting that when Bridget Jones discovered that Mark Darcy voted Conservative it threatened to stop her going out with him.

"Besides - if everyone who had a partner or husband voted Tory they'd have won the last election wouldn't they?" she adds.