THE maverick Medway Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews is to stand down at the next general election.

Mr Marshall-Andrews was elected to Parliament in 1997 when Labour came to power after 18 years in opposition.

In his ten years as an MP, the 63-year-old QC has been a forthright backbench critic of his own government, particularly over Iraq.

In a letter to his association announcing his decision, the MP said it has been a rare and unexpected privilege to represent Medway for a decade but admitted his time in Parliament had not always been "entirely calm."

He said: "Whilst I have supported the majority of the Government’s programmes and initiatives (particularly in relation to the economy and public service) I have also strongly opposed other attempted legislation. Overwhelmingly this has concerned civil liberty and, of course, Iraq."

His letter also takes a side-swipe at those who believe that Westminster is a "waiting room for government," describing it as "a dangerous fallacy entertained, unhappily, by far too many career politicians, of which there are probably far too many."

He sets out that for the new government under Gordon Brown to prosper, it must end the culture of spin and develop a foreign policy that uncouples its association from the "Neo-Conservative imperatives of the present American administration."

He says he has enjoyed his time as MP and singled out the development of a university campus at Medway and the planned regeneration of the riverside as major achievements.

The MP famously predicted his own demise during a live general election broadcast where he said he had lost his seat, only for a recount to see him returned to Parliament for a third time in 2005 on a slim majority of 213 votes.