The wife of UBP leader Kim Swan says her husband has been “cruelly thrown into the snake pit” by his former colleagues.Cindy Swan has hit out at the “ungrateful behaviour” of the seven MPs responsible for a mass walkout of the 47-year-old United Bermuda Party.The politicians have gone on to join new political party One Bermuda Alliance, leaving Mr Swan in what his wife calls “a worthless position” he doesn't deserve.Mrs Swan has defended the actions of her husband who spearheaded a court injunction to try and prevent the dissolution of the UBP. Mr Swan stood down as Opposition Leader after losing the support of his MPs. The injunction has since been dropped.Mrs Swan said she wanted to “put the record straight” in response to negative comments written about her husband on the Internet.She told The Royal Gazette in an interview last week: “It's very distressing that people can be so hurtful and negative. He doesn't deserve this.“It's upsetting and unfair that people are now pointing the finger.“Here is a man who has dedicated 12 years to his country. He cares for the people of Bermuda and stands for transparency on all levels.”Mrs Swan said her husband was “acting on what he believes in” as he was adamant that the proper procedures to wind up the UBP had not been followed.She said he was simply “sticking to his principles” that public consultation was needed and “doing things right by the UBP's constitution”.She said: “They just wanted to merge the party by doing A, but Kim wants to make sure that A, B and C take place.“He's just standing up for what he believes in, which is trying to stop people deciding the fate of a party without going to the electorate.”MPs John Barritt, Trevor Moniz, Cole Simons, Bob Richards, Louise Jackson, Grant Gibbons and Patricia Gordon-Pamplin all quit the UBP so they could sidestep the injunction and move to the OBA.But Mrs Swan has accused the MPs of doing what Shawn Crockwell, Mark Pettingill and Donte Hunt did in 2009 when they left the UBP to start up the BDA. She said they've all “left the party without helping to repay the dollars which got them elected”.She said: “Having spoken to each of those seven who resigned, I can say they all had such negative reactions to the three MPs who originally resigned.“They called them opportunists and traitors and called on them to resign from their seats as they were elected UBP. They were accused of having switched parties for themselves.“Now they are going back on what they said. They are doing exactly the same thing as they were criticising.”Mrs Swan said she had watched her husband “prioritise and dedicate his time to his country”. She said over the years there had been “plenty of times” where Mr Swan had put his country first, missing family events including his daughter's school plays and sports day.Mrs Swan said her husband had even delayed visiting his eldest daughter when she was having brain surgery until after he had responded to the Budget as the then Senate leader.She said: “He's remained committed at all times. He's always worked for the betterment of Bermuda. He's sacrificed so much for his love of his country.”Mrs Swan added that her husband had also “worked diligently” to clean up the party's thousands of dollars of debt.Mrs Swan said she would no doubt be “called a Wayne Furbert, Jamahl Simmons or Maxwell Burgess” for speaking out but she insisted “this is not sour grapes”.She said her husband had “totally shielded” her from what was going on back in Bermuda as they attended the overseas funeral of her father, Charles Panting.Mrs Swan said: “I was grieving and I didn't know anything until we got back, I had not been part of anything that had been said or done.“To come back to the Island and read all these negative things about my husband is just not right.“People are saying he was only in politics for money and personal gain. That's just not true.”Mrs Swan describes them as “a regular Bermudian family” with a mortgage and just one vehicle, saying Mr Swan buys a bus pass each month. She added that she and her husband were both community service advocates who “weren't vindictive in any way”.She said: “We have been inundated with phone calls of support from across the political arena, including staunch PLP supporters.“I hope the people of Bermuda know what a good person he is. He is not part of the elitist, he is just himself.”When asked how Mr Swan was coping with things, Mrs Swan said: “My husband is fine. He's a Christian man who puts his faith where his faith needs to be.”And she added: “This is not a major obstacle in our lives. It just come at the worst possible time for me.”Mrs Swan said her husband had not discussed his future but he “would continue to serve the people of St George's”.She said both she and their daughter remained members of the UBP. She added: “My husband is the head of the household and we respect his decisions. We will continue to be members of the UBP for as long as my husband is a member.”