MP Gordon Henderson has landed himself in hot water after he published the names and addresses of constituents on his Facebook account.

The Sittingbourne and Sheppey representative posted and later deleted an open letter, sent to him by a number of people, asking about his views on the reintroduction of capital punishment.

The letter was prompted by Facebook posts from Mr Henderson earlier this month calling for it to be reinstated.

Now the data protection watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), is looking into the publishing of names and partial addresses of the 30 cosignatories of the note on Mr Henderson’s Facebook page.

One of those who put their name to what is described as an "open letter", was 42-year-old Nicholas Hurwood.

The father-of-three, of All Saints Road, Sittingbourne, said: “This issue first appeared when there was a news article about a pensioner that’d died after being attacked.

“Gordon Henderson posted to say capital punishment should be brought back and the death penalty

“Then a conversation went on from that on the Sittingbourne and Sheppey Facebook page with one person saying they were going to write to him about his views.

“Because we were writing to an MP, for them to reply you’ve got to add a name and address so they know you’re a constituent.

“Once he’d received the letter, he posted it on his Facebook page with our names and addresses.

“I’ve complained to his office, the Conservative Party and the Information Commissioner’s Office because some of the people who signed the letter might be vulnerable.”

Mr Henderson responded: “By posting the open letter on my Facebook page I was simply reflecting the 'open' nature of it.

“I did so assuming that all the people listed in the letter understood the implications of supporting such a letter and thought it only fair to them that their views should be shared.

“However, it now appears I was wrong and some of the signatories did not understand what they were doing.

“I have therefore decided to take the post down and would urge anybody tempted to sign an 'open letter' to think twice.”

Mr Henderson says he has yet to be contacted by the Information Commissioner’s Office so was unsure if an ICO investigation was taking place.

He added: “However, should such an investigation take place, I do not think it is appropriate for me to comment until it is concluded.”

A spokesman for the ICO said: “We have been made aware of an incident relating to an MP’s social media account and will be making enquiries.”