Scottish MP to appear in court

A British member of parliament from the governing Labour Party is to appear in court later today to face criminal charges in relation to his election campaign.

The charges against the MP, Mohammed Sarwar, relate to the late registration of voters in his Scottish constituency and to allegedly fraudulent expenses.

Mr Sarwar, Britain's first Muslim MP, has consistently denied the allegations which surfaced soon after the election in May this year.

Correspondents say the allegations are a major embarrassment for the Labour Party, which spent much of the election campaign attacking the Conservative government for alleged corruption.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service