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A Merseyside MP who is set to stand trial over an alleged assault has been appointed to a top Westminster justice committee.

Marie Rimmer, 67, Labour MP for St Helens South and Whiston, will scrutinise the Ministry of Justice even though she is due to appear in court later this month over an alleged assault in Glasgow.

The MP is accused of attacking a pro-independence campaigner at a polling station during the referendum campaign in Scotland.

She previously pleaded not guilty to assault and stood trial in August before the case collapsed because of a reported mistake in the wording of the charge by prosecutors.

Ms Rimmer has not yet entered a plea and has been granted more time to consult her lawyers after the Scottish prosecution service said it was to revisit the case.

She is next due to appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Thursday, October 29.

Ms Rimmer has now been appointed to the House of Commons Justice Select Committee, which scrutinises the spending, administration and policy of the Ministry of Justice.

She is one of Labour’s four MPs on the committee, which also examines the work of the Crown Prosecution Service and Serious Fraud Office.

A spokesman for the MP said she had previously chaired the Police Complaints Committee on Merseyside, and served as chair of Red Bank, a secure home for young people convicted of serious crime in Newton-Le-Willows.

The MP has been approached for comment, but said in an earlier statement about the new role: “It is an honour to have been appointed. We must ensure the principle of access to justice is a right delivered.

“Legal aid and tribunal costs are having a dramatic negative impact on this and many feel that access to justice has a price tag.

“The current review of courts across the country, including in St Helens, further threatens this right.”

Her spokesman later told the ECHO: “It would not be appropriate for Marie to comment on an ongoing legal matter.

"However, Marie is looking forward to being involved in the upcoming work of the Justice Select Committee during this Parliament.”