Labour MP Jane Griffiths was de-selected by her local party over her support for the Iraq war – and replaced by a man convicted of sex offences.

Blairite Mrs Griffiths was blocked from fighting the next election in Reading East after rows with members over the Gulf conflict.

She also sparked uproar by calling for brothels to be legalised.

Now party activist Tony Page, 50, who has two convictions for indecency with a man, will fight for the seat. He was first convicted over an incident in an underground car park in 1989.

The councillor was convicted in 1995 over an encounter in a station toilet and given a 12-month conditional discharge, but when questioned he said the party and voters were "fully aware" of his past, and he vowed to "reunite" the local party once he was fully installed.

Mrs Griffiths, 49, became one of the original Blair Babes when she was elected in 1997.

She is the first MP to be de-selected by local bosses for ten years.

Peterborough MP Helen Clarke avoided de-selection by just 11 votes. Mrs Griffiths recently claimed a small number of sexist men in the Labour Party were plotting to get rid of her, but she refused to comment further after a meeting with party officials.

Reading Labour Party chairman Stuart Singleton-White said "Local members have decided Tony Page is the best candidate."