Indian-origin MP Seema Malhotra appointed shadow chief secretary in UK

LONDON: A 43-year-old Indian-origin British MP has been appointed as the shadow chief secretary for Treasury by the newly elected Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Seema Malhotra became MP for the London seat of Feltham and Heston in 2011 in a by-election following the death of Alan Keen (Conservative).

In August 2014, she was given the newly-created role of shadow minister for preventing violence against women and girls by the then Labour leader Ed Miliband.

She will be shadow chancellor John McDonnell's number two in the shadow Treasury team.

Hammersmith-born Malhotra earlier worked in business consultancy before entering the parliament.

Extreme left-wing Corbyn was on Sunday elected leader of Britain's main Opposition Labour Party in a landslide victory here.

He gained 2,51,417 or 59.5 per cent of first preference votes - 40 per cent more than his nearest rival Andy Burnham, who got 19 per cent. Yvette Cooper was third on 17 per cent and Liz Kendall a distant fourth with 4.5 per cent of the votes.

Corbyn's victory marks a sea change in British politics with the far Left gaining control of a party that had defined itself as "New Labour" for years, having moved more towards the political centre ground, marking a departure from strong links with the country's trade unions.

The result has also sparked talk of a deep split within the Labour party that was thrown into turmoil by David Cameron's shock May election win.