THE Conservatives have selected their candidate to contest the seat of a North-East MP who finds himself at the centre of a political storm.

Harriett Baldwin will take on Stockton North MP Frank Cook in the forthcoming General Election, expected to be held this Spring.

Mr Cook has been criticised for trying to claim almost £1,500 on expenses to replant and pave his garden at his £500,000 home in London.

The issue will be discussed at a meeting of the Stockton Labour Party on Friday.

Mr Cook's claim, under the additional costs allowance expenses scheme, was turned down.

Mrs Baldwin is the head of currency management at JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management.

Mrs Baldwin has a first class Masters degree from Oxford University, and speaks fluently in both French and Russian.

She said: "I am delighted to have been selected to fight Stockton North for the Conservative Party."

Mrs Baldwin is married to Jim, a TV film producer and railway enthusiast.

The couple have two teenage daughters, Chloe and Stephanie and a ten-year-old son, Jonathan.