An Abergavenny native embroiled in a French political scandal saw her husband vow to fight on in his bid for the presidency.

Penelope Fillon, formerly of Llanover, is accused of receiving huge sums of public money for working as her husband Francois’ parliamentary assistant, a job French prosecutors allege was fake.

French police last week raided the Fillons’ home, whilst conservative candidate Francois faced loudening calls to drop out of the race he led comfortably until the scandal broke early last month.

Dubbing the investigation a ‘political assassination, Mr Fillon refused to quit the race, urging his supporters to ‘resist’ what he claimed was an orchestrated attempt to derail his campaign.

Mr Fillon’s standing in the polls has fallen sharply from clear frontrunner to third place, behind Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron.

He denies the allegations and claims procedures have not be properly followed in the ensuing probe into his financial history.

The accusations are particularly damaging given that Mr Fillon’s campaign centres on his pledge to cut government spending and waste, and a focus on his Catholic values.

Le Canard Enchaine, the French equivalent of Private Eye, reported that payments were made Mrs Fillon and two of their five children, totalling more than one million euro (£850,000) over a decade.

Marine Le Pen, of the Front National, currently leads the polls but is expected to flounder against Emmanuel Macron in the second round run-off in May.