Cindy McCain accused of pilfering recipes

Cindy McCain, the blonde hairdo-ed wife of Republican Presidential candidate John McCain, has been accused of stealing recipes from cook books and websites and passing them off as her own. The dishes appear on her husband's campaign website on a page called 'Cindy's Recipes'. There are seven in total, all of the homely, finger lickin' good variety, among then turkey sausages and a delicious-sounding passion fruit mousse. All are billed unambiguously as authentic "McCain Family Recipes".

The problem is not one of them is; most have been lifted without permission from the Food Network, a popular US foodie site.

Cindy, 53, heiress to a multi-million-dollar beer distribution company – it was through her father that ex naval officer McCann broke into Arizona politics – has previous form for thieving. In the 1990s she was prescribed opiates to alleviate the pain caused by two operations on her spine. This later developed into a full-blown addiction, with Cindy admitting to stealing drugs to maintain her habit.