A FORMER diplomat, adventurer and author has been chosen as the Conservative candidate to fight the Penrith and Border constituency at the next General Election.

Rory Stewart, who was born in Hong Kong in 1973 and later brought up in Malaysia, was selected at a US-style open primary at Penrith Auction Mart on Sunday, beating off chall-enges from five other contenders in a close-run contest.

Afterwards he told The Westmorland Gazette: “I am over the moon.

“It’s a real privilege and I’m looking forward to being a real constituency MP, serving a wide range of local interests, particularly farm-ing.

“My family roots are in rural Scotland and I have a particular love of the countryside.

“Mr Stewart’s selection followed five hours of debate during which the candidates were grilled by members of the local committee.

The current Conservative MP David Maclean, who has represented the const-ituency since 1983, is stepp-ing down on health grounds after developing multiple sclerosis.

Mr Stewart, who once tutored Princes William and Harry while a student at Oxford, wrote a best-selling and prize-winning book, The Places In Between, about a 6,000-mile walk he under-took across Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Nepal between 2000 and 2002.

He was awarded an OBE for his Foreign Office service following a post-invasion stint as deputy governor of Maysan and senior advisor in Dhi Qar, two provinces in southern Iraq.