Conservative MP Crispin Blunt to stand down at next election

Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has announced he will stand down at the next general election.

The former justice minister made the announcement in a statement posted on his website marking 25 years in Parliament.

"This statement is not the place for the tale of the ensuing 25 years," he said.

"But its purpose is to use this 25th anniversary to make public, what those closest to me have known privately for some time, that after seven increasingly tumultuous parliaments, this will be my last."

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The MP for Reigate spent 11 years in the armed forces before his election in 1997.

He is also the uncle of actress Emily Blunt.

Last month, Mr Blunt apologised for "significant upset and concern" caused by his defence of fellow MP Imran Ahmad Khan following his conviction for sexually assaulting a teenage boy in 2008.

Mr Blunt had called the verdict a "dreadful miscarriage of justice" in a statement on his website.

But he has deleted the message after Conservative Party officials said it was "wholly unacceptable"

In a statement, Mr Blunt said he had decided to retract his statement and insisted "I do not condone any form of abuse and I strongly believe in the independence and integrity of the justice system".

Mr Blunt also offered his resignation as chairman of an all-party parliamentary group (APPG) on LGBT issues following protests from MPs about his comments.

Mr Khan, who was thrown out of the Conservative Party following the verdict, plans to appeal against the conviction.