IAIN Duncan Smith has hit back at claims that his novel, The Devil's Tune, is a flop.

The Sunday Mirror has claimed that fewer than 600 copies of the thriller by the MP for Chingford and Woodford Green had been sold and sales were so bad that publisher Robson Books was refusing to release figures.

The book was published on November 6 shortly after Mr Duncan Smith lost the Conservative Party leadership and the article quoted sources in various booksellers to back up its claim.

Mr Duncan Smith's constituency agent Rikki Radford told the Guardian: "They quoted WH Smith which doesn't even stock the book so it wouldn't have sold any copies anyway.

"I don't know the sales figures but Iain is very happy with how it has gone."

At Chingford's Bargain Bookstore where Mr Duncan Smith did a signing session just before Christmas, owner Beverley Tankard said: "It did sell well when you take it in the context that people don't just rush out and spend £16 on a book if they don't know the author. In the context of that we were very happy with sales. He's a very personable man.

"It doesn't matter how famous you are, the world of books and selling books is very hard."

A spokeswoman for Robson Books stated that company policy was not to release figures for sales or for print runs but that a paperback edition was due out on May 20.

Mr Duncan Smith is said to be working on a sequel.