Labour MP for Falkirk, already facing assault charges over alleged fracas in Commons bar, to step down at next general election

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

Eric Joyce, the Labour MP facing assault charges over an alleged fracas in a Commons bar is to step down at the next general election after admitting to a relationship with a teenage girl.

Joyce, the MP for Falkirk, has been under intense pressure to resign from his constituency party after being charged with assault after a brawl in the Strangers bar at Westminster in late February, leading to his suspension by the UK Labour leader, Ed Miliband.

The demands for his resignation intensified earlier this week after it emerged that he had a relationship with Meg Lauder, then 17 but now 19, who volunteered in his constituency office before the 2010 general election. She also appeared in party leaflets.

After initially denying it, Joyce admitted the relationship in an interview with the Record, but denied it was sexual. He told the paper he would step down by the next general election, due to be held in 2015.

The paper quoted Joyce, a divorcee, as saying: "She was young and I kind of got my communications with her wrong.

"She was super-helpful, very friendly. I was very friendly with her for several months 18 months ago. She was a young, impressionable girl."

Joyce's constituency party said on Sunday that it wanted him "to do the right thing" by resigning if the assault charges against him were proven – a move that would trigger a byelection in a seat targeted by the Scottish National party.

Martin Murray, the chairman, said: "Falkirk expects and deserves the best representation and highest standards of behaviour from its elected representatives. If the recent alleged events are proven, then we expect Mr Joyce to do the right thing."

The disclosure of his relationship with Lauder sparked an angry reaction from Johann Lamont, the Scottish Labour leader, earlier this week which appears to have decided his fate.

She said: "This is a man who has abused his position of power and authority. I'm disgusted, regardless of any other issues. I think this makes Eric Joyce unfit to stand for the Labour party."

Joyce, who has faced heavy criticism for being one of the highest expenses claimants of any MP, has a 7,843-vote majority, but his support fell at the last election.

Senior party figures believe the Falkirk seat would be vulnerable to the SNP at a byelection, and are worried that an early poll could present the SNP leader, Alex Salmond, with a much-needed victory.