Redditch MP Karen Lumley to stand down due to ill health

The Conservative MP who unseated former Labour Home Secretary Jacqui Smith at the 2010 general election has said she is standing down due to ill health.

Karen Lumley said it had been an honour to serve her constituency in Redditch, Worcestershire, but voters needed to be served by someone who was "fully fit".

She said: "Due to ill health I have decided not to stand for re-election."

She is one of several MPs who have chosen to stand down ahead of the snap general election on 8 June.

Mother-of-two Ms Lumley, who was born in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, backed Brexit during the EU referendum.

In 2015, health campaigners expressed disappointment after her failure to protect services at the town's troubled Alexandra Hospital.

Ms Lumley, who had campaigned unsuccessfully to win Redditch from the Labour party in two previous general elections, defeated Ms Smith in 2010 after the then home secretary became embroiled in the MPs' expenses scandal.