John Smeaton - the man who tackled suicide bombers during the 2007 Glasgow airport terror attacks - will stand in the Parliamentary seat vacated by the former Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin.

Mr Smeaton is set to be unveiled as an independent candidate in the Glasgow North East by-election. The by-election was triggered when Mr Martin stood down in June in the wake of the row over MPs expenses.

The former baggage handler's bid to win the key seat is sponsored by political movement, Jury Team. Mr Smeaton will be the first candidate selected by the group to stand for a seat in the House of Commons, according to The Sun newspaper.

The 33-year-old told the newspaper he was "ready to rock the boat" in Westminster. Mr Smeaton will "make a real difference" to UK politics, a spokesman for Jury Team said.

Founded earlier this year by the former director-general of the Conservative Party, Sir Paul Judge, Jury Team backs independent candidates to Parliament. In the European Parliamentary elections, Jury Team selected 59 candidates and won approximately 80,000 votes.

Candidates for other parties already unveiled for the Glasgow North East by-election include William Bain for Labour, David Kerr for the SNP, Ruth Davidson for the Scottish Conservatives and Eileen Baxendale for the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

Austin Compton Bradford, a Jury Team spokesman, said: "The candidate is very, very well-known in Glasgow, nationally and internationally.

"We are all very tired of the system in Parliament where people's voices aren't heard. We want to bring the voices of the ordinary person into Parliament and get real people who are part of the community to stand."