Kent MP Kelly Tolhurst has been appointed deputy chief whip.

The Conservative MP for Rochester and Strood got the post yesterday, with a statement on the government's website reading: "The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Kelly Tolhurst MP as Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip)."

The appointment comes after the former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher quit after an incident in which he allegedly groped two guests at a London club.

Ms Tolhurst. 43, a former housing minister, has been the Medway constituency's Conservative MP since 2015.

She was a Rochester West member of Medway Council from 2011 to 2018.

Ms Tolhurst was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing and Rough Sleeping from September 2020 to January 2021.

Her previous roles in the Commons have included Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility, from 2018 to 2020.

Yesterday Mr Pincher was suspended as a Conservative MP after an investigation was launched into the allegations, the BBC reports.

Mr Pincher, MP for Tamworth in Staffordshire, had already quit as Tory deputy chief whip after the alleged incident.

Ms Tolhurst has been contacted by KentOnline to comment on her new appointment