A Kent MEP has broken her silence after her former aide implicated her in a scam to inflate the price of an official dinner from £950 to £3,000.

Janice Atkinson denies she had any involvement in the incident, several weeks after her former worker Christine Hewitt was convicted of fraud.

During a trial at Canterbury Crown Court, 55-year-old Hewitt admitted fraud and was given a four-month suspended jail sentence and 40 hours of community work.

The trial heard Hewitt, from Kings Hill, was aggrieved Ms Atkinson, who was suspended from Ukip, had never faced any charges over the events.

In a statement, Ms Atkinson said she did not speak out earlier while the court case was in progress so as not to prejudice legal proceedings.

She added: "Earlier this month my former assistant Christine Hewitt pleaded guilty in court to fraud. The case involved Christine’s acquiring from The Hoy pub a falsely inflated invoice supposedly to cover the cost of a sponsored event."

The event was a European Parliament grouping sponsored event to raise the issue of and encourage more women into politics, something Ms Atkinson has been involved in.

Ms Atkinson continued: "Regrettably Christine’s barrister attempted to mitigate her punishment by blaming me as someone who was 'aware of and instrumental in arranging' the fraud.

"This tactic of trying to shift on to me the blame for a crime which Christine had already admitted in court was made publicly.

"It gives me no pleasure to rake over these issues again and I understand this is a painful and difficult time for Christine.

“However, what they said about me was simply not true."

The court heard pub manager David Goulding met Hewitt and became increasingly uneasy as she suggested the invoice price should increase and a premium cost be added to a buffet lunch.

Hewitt said she planned to present the bill to a newly formed collection of pan-European parties called Alliance for Direct Democracy in Europe, and its foundation The
Initiative for Direct Democracy in Europe.

Dealing with the court claims, Ms Atkinson said she did not instruct her employee to obtain an inflated invoice from the Margate pub. She also says she was not aware of Hewitt taking this action.

Ms Atkinson, 54, also claims Hewitt admitted she had behaved foolishly and did not understand fundraising and sponsorship, which affected her organisation of the event.

The court also heard how Hewitt had been suffering with family problems.

Ms Atkinson added: "Family problems are, of course, always a matter of regret. However Christine’s actions in trying to pin the blame on me for a crime to which she has confessed are wrong.

"It was painful enough for me that her actions led to my expulsion from Ukip and to my becoming the subject of a police investigation – an investigation which cleared me of any wrongdoing whatsoever."