CHERYL Gillan, the Amersham and Chesham MP, has today defended the sale of her Amersham home, close to where High Speed 2 would run.

It comes after Labour asked Prime Minister David Cameron to investigate her actions and whether it breached the Ministerial code.

The Welsh Secretary has come under intense fire over the weekend after national media reported she had sold the house just weeks before the Government approved the £33bn scheme.

Her remarks last week, following the approval of HS2, had already fiercely criticised by campaigners, who called for her to resign her government role.

But in a statement to the Bucks Free Press, the Tory MP said: “Regarding the sale of my former home in the constituency, both I and my husband have mobility problems and the house was no longer safe or suitable for us in practical terms of accessibility.

“The property was put on the market in June 2010.

“Over a year later in July 2011 an offer was received and accepted for the property at a much lower price than the original independently valued asking price.

“The sale was concluded in the autumn of 2011 at a date set by the purchaser.

“I shall not be giving any interviews on this subject.”

Seb Berry, Chiltern District Councillor for Great Missenden, independent, said: “We now have an MP who sits in the Cabinet that has approved a policy that will blight many homes in her own constituency – and yet she no longer owns a property here.

“That will make local people – many whom were in tears over the HS2 decision – very angry.”

Great Missenden resident Marilyn Fletcher was fuming about Mrs Gillan's actions.

She wrote: “Even before the sale of her house there was widespread dissatisfaction with Cheryl Gillan’s performance on HS2.”

Mrs Fletcher said she and other campaigners had begun to feel the MP was fighting their corner over HS2, but were dismayed over the latest news. Last week, Mrs Fletcher claimed the MP had not followed through on her pre-election talk over HS2.

“For me, and I suspect many others, Cheryl Gillan’s action in selling her property in Amersham at a time like this is simply the last straw.”

Mrs Gillan, however, in a separate interview with the BFP (see link) she insisted her stance had remained the same and said she had fought for the best deal for her constituents.

Labour called for an investigation as to whether she has breached the Ministerial code over the house sale.

Jon Trickett MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office, said on the Labour website  that the house sale had shown “complete disregard for the constituents she has abandoned”.

He claimed she had damaged her own and the Government’s ‘credibility and reputation’.

He has written to David Cameron, asking him to investigate the matter.