CONSERVATIVE MP Louise Mensch is to quit politics and move to New York to be with her rock band manager husband and their family.
The backbencher, who shot to prominence as a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee which investigated the phone-hacking scandal, said she was devastated but it was a "necessary decision".
The move will trigger a by-election for her marginal seat in Corby, Northamptonshire.
Mrs Mensch carved out a high-profile for herself and had been tipped for a major post.
But she had been forced to divide her time between the UK and the US.
Her husband, Peter Mensch, is manager of rock band Metallica.
Mrs Mensch told the Prime Minister in a letter: "I have been struggling for some time to find the best outcome for my family life, and have decided, in order to keep us together, to move to New York.
"It is only through your personal intervention, delivered quietly and without fanfare, that I have been able to manage my duties for this long."
Mrs Mensch told Mr Cameron that letting her work from her constituency on Thursdays and Fridays allowed her to spend more time with her children.
However, she added: "It has not proved to be enough. I am very sorry that, despite my best efforts, I have been unable to make the balancing act work for our family."
The Prime Minister said he was aware it had been "a particularly difficult period for you and your family".
He added: "It is with enormous regret I accept your resignation as the Member of Parliament for Corby and East Northamptonshire, a seat that had been Labour for 13 years before you. I do so only because I wish to support you in acting in the best interests of your family, which must come first."
Mr Cameron hinted she had been in line for a role in the Government.
He said: "It goes without saying that I had wished to see you serve for longer and at a more senior level."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article