Bury North Labour MP David Chaytor has announced that he will not fight the next General Election in the wake of revelations that he claimed expenses on a mortgage which did not exist.

Mr Chaytor has already been suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party pending a “star chamber” inquiry into his claims. He said he would not seek re-election after discussions with colleagues, local party figures and senior Labour officials at the weekend. He said that, for the coming months, his “priority must be to explain my errors following allegations over the use of parliamentary allowances”.

”This will be time-consuming and stressful,” he went on. “I have referred my case to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and will co-operate fully with his inquiry.”

Mr Chaytor, an MP since 1997, already faced being de-selected as a Labour candidate after it emerged he claimed almost £13,000 on a non-existent mortgage. He is to pay back the sum.

In a statement this morning he said he would continue his constituency and Parliamentary jobs" target="_blank">work “conscientiously and to the best of my ability” but would not be able to commit to campaigning during this period.

”Therefore, it is only fair to my constituents, to my party and to my family that we quickly start the process of selecting a new candidate to fight for Labour in Bury North.

”I do not want my self-inflicted problems to be a distraction to my party’s campaign as we move towards the General Election.”

Businessman Sir Paul Judge, who recently launched the Jury Team - an umbrella organisation for independent candidates - has said he may take steps to bring a private prosecution against the four MPs caught up in the expenses scandal.

Sir Paul said he would mount a private prosecution if no charges had been brought by June 19.

In a letter to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer, Sir Paul said he was lodging complaints against MPs David Chaytor, Elliot Morley, Shahid Malik and Andrew MacKay.

Last month, the Met and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that they were setting up a panel to examine the various complaints which had been made against MPs since the details of their expenses became public.

In his letter, Sir Paul, an Alderman of the City of London who is being advised by the City law firm Stephenson Harwood, said he believed charges should now be brought against the four MPs as a test case of the law on parliamentary expenses.

"In the event that you have not decided to bring charges by June 19, one month after you announced your review, then I plan to take steps to begin a private prosecution.”