Dehenna Davison has resigned as levelling up minister, citing an ongoing battle with chronic migraine.

The Bishop Auckland MP, who has already said she will leave Parliament at the next election, said her health problem “has had a great impact on my ability to carry out the role”.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak, she said: “Some days I’m fine, but on others it is difficult, if not impossible, to keep up with the demands of ministerial life – and the timing of such days is never predictable.

Get more from The Northern Echo with a Premium Plus digital subscription from as little as only £1.50 a week. Click here.

“Though I have tried to mitigate, and am grateful to colleagues for their patience at times, I don’t feel it is right to continue in the role.”

She used her resignation letter to praise the Government for making progress on devolution, delivering new freeports and allocating billions of pounds to regeneration projects across the UK.

She added that she would use her remaining time in Parliament to focus on her constituency and her campaign for better justice and support for one-punch assault victims and their families.

The issue has been of great personal importance to Ms Davison, whose father was killed by a single punch during an attack in a pub in Sheffield when she was just 13.

Redcar MP Jacob Young has been announced as Ms Davison’s replacement as levelling up minister.