Government MP Leah Scott has denied plagiarising an article on a US news and media website for a letter to the editor that was published in The Royal Gazette last week.

Ms Scott came under fire after it became apparent that sections of the letter bore striking similarities to an article on hellobeautiful.com. But the Southampton East MP, who is Junior Minister for Education, yesterday said she had not “plagiarised” the piece, and had always intended to give credit to the site as a source.

She said: “On Friday, I submitted a letter to the editor encouraging the alliance of women.

“This letter was based on an article I read in hellobeautiful.com and formed the theme for my letter.

“While it is alleged that I have directly plagiarised, this is untrue.

“The definition of direct plagiarising is taking someone’s work word for word and claiming it as your own. I did not do this.

“I recognise the importance of crediting and citing sources and it is my practice to do so. I am generally very cautious about my work, especially when I, at times, include the work of others in my own.

“My error in submitting the letter without references was inadvertent and unintentional and I took the necessary steps to immediately correct this wrong by providing The Royal Gazette with the necessary citation and an apology to the readers for not including the source at the time of publication.”

Ms Scott’s letter to the editor appeared in Friday’s Royal Gazette, and quickly attracted criticism on social media websites from some quarters for its similarities with an article on hellobeautiful.com

On Saturday, Ms Scott contacted The Royal Gazette asking for the website to be mentioned as a source for her letter to the editor.

She added: “Humility leads to strength and not to weakness.

“It is the highest form of self-respect to admit mistakes and to make amends for them. (John J McCloy).

“I will never win in the court of public opinion on this matter, and I am not going to try to.

“I can only humble myself and apologise to all who I have offended.”