Members of parliament are twice as likely to have mental health problems than other people in comparable work positions, research has found.

Researchers from King’s College London devised an anonymous online survey which was sent to all 650 sitting politicians at Westminster.

Around one in five MPs - 146 - returned completed questionnaires, and compared to people with similar incomes and stressful jobs, more than one third of MPs had mental health issues and feelings of worthlessness, unhappiness, and depression, compared to 17 per cent of members of the public.

Lead co-author, Dr Dan Poulter MP, said: “This is the first study of its kind to start to evaluate the mental health and wellbeing of UK parliamentarians.

“It suggests a high level of mental distress among MPs and raises important issues about how we can better support the people making and scrutinising the laws that run our country, who experience poor mental health.”

MPs scores were compared to people taking part in the Health Survey for England (HSE), an annual survey which gauges the health of the nation.

Researcher said that it was illuminating that the response rate from MPs was low, possibly indicating the persisting stigma associated with mental illness and their fears of opening themselves up to stalkers or harassment by revealing problems.