Conservative candidate Ed Matts, running for parliament in Britain's May 5th election, is in trouble again after an Olympic gold medallist today claimed she did not give permission for him to use a photo in his election material.
Matts was forced into a humiliating apology earlier this week after he doctored a photo on a campaign leaflet.
At the candidate's Dorset South constituency Sarah Ayton, who won a sailing gold medal at last year's Athens Olympics, claimed he was using a photo of her on his election material without authorisation.
"I was not told about it or asked for permission," Ms Ayton told her local newspaper the Dorset Echo. "It is definitely not something I would have given consent for use in this way, especially after seeing what he did with the other photographs the other day."
Worse for Matts, the local sporting hero is backing Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour party in the election.
The fresh row - a rare spark in a so far prosaic election campaign - came a day after media humiliated the would-be legislator by publishing the original and altered photos of him at a protest against deportation of an asylum-seeker.
Matts did not dispute falsifying new slogans on placards seen on the photo and confessed it was a "foolish mistake." But he strongly denied today's new allegations.
In a statement, he said he had met Ayton and fellow Olympic medallist Sarah Webb late last year and had requested their permission to use a photo of them together.
"If they have since changed their minds then I will obviously make sure that the photos are not used in any future literature," he said.
Conservative leader Michael Howard - trailing Blair in the polls - has resisted demands to sack Matts.
Labour, in contrast, is delighting in the discomfort of its main rival.
"This is an abuse of two Olympic heroines and Mr Matts is exposed once more as a disgrace to politics," Culture, Media and Sport Minister Tessa Jowell said.
"He should apologise and also, coming as it does on top of the doctored photo row, he should resign."
Although a relatively minor incident, the Matts' photo saga has added a bit of spice to a predictable and low-key campaign that is singularly failing to excite the British public.