East Lothian MP Anne Moffat has revealed that she had secured a deal to retire from Westminster due to ill health prior to her deselection as candidate.
The news comes just a week after Labour dropped her as their election candidate amid claims by party activists that she was incompetent.
51-year-old Moffat, who has represented the seat for nine years, suffered a brain haemorrhage last year. However, she insisted she should be allowed to stand again and claimed there was bullying at all levels of the Labour party.
After her deselection last week, Ms Moffat said: "It has been a privilege and a pleasure to serve this constituency and to be in a position to know that through my work and the work of my office team we have been able to help so many individuals who have sought assistance.
"Regrettably, the manner in which I have been treated by so called comrades and Labour party activists leaves me with a sense of disbelief that such conduct is prevalent in a democratic socialist party."
It has now emerged that Ms Moffat had already secured retirement from Westminster due to ill health. She is reported as saying: “I’ve had ill health retirement secured since the latter part of last year.
“What I was not prepared to allow was them to push me. They were threatening me to take early retirement on health grounds or face deselection.
“It’s not just a case of accepting it now. I chose to do it after all this happened but it was private and personal.”
It is understood that Ms Moffat could receive an annual pension of around £30,000 – the same as if she’d served until she was 65. However, MPs can only qualify for early retirement on health grounds if they can no longer perform their duties, something which Ms Moffat has consistently denied.
The controversy will be of consternation to the East Lothian Labour party. With a General Election approaching, it now faces an uphill struggle to restore voter confidence
