Edwina mobbed at Writer's Club appearance

Edwina Currie tonight received a warm welcome at her first public appearance since she revealed her four-year affair with John Major.

Mrs Currie, 55, received three rounds of applause within the first five minutes of her lecture to the Nottingham Writers’ Club, an engagement she had made in August 2001, before the bombshell disclosure of her intimate relationship with the former Prime Minister.

The former Tory junior health minister was mobbed by members of the media as she arrived at the venue in Nottingham but remained composed and refused to comment after Mr Major backed out of speaking about their relationship tonight.

Mrs Currie, who wore a black trouser suit and a pale pink high necked blouse, said she had agreed to speak to the writers’ club and was determined to honour that agreement, despite the events of the week.

She said: “When we were planning some of the activities for this week I’m afraid I rather put my foot down, as you can imagine, and I said ‘I’m sorry, I’m going, I’m not going to let them down, that’s not fair’.”

Her comments drew a round of applause from her 70-strong audience.

Making reference to the screening of her interview with Sir Trevor McDonald tonight on ITV she said: “Those of you whose neighbours have said she won’t be there because she’s on television, I’m here, we’re videoing the telly.”

Mrs Currie then told how she began writing – she first tried to write a sequel to the best-selling novel My Friend Flicker when she was just six years old but had failed to complete more than a first page.

She then began writing for her school magazine and his since published several novels.

She said the last few days had reminded her of the “downside” of being well known but did not appear to be planning to speak about her former relationship with Mr Major.