Councillor David Simmonds will attempt to make it third time lucky after he was selected as the Conservative candidate for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner.

Mr Simmonds, the deputy leader of Hillingdon council, has contested two parliamentary elections and served as Ickenham's representative for two decades.

He saw off the challenge of fellow Tory councillors Resham Kotecha and Ameet Jogia and will contest what is seen as a safe Conservative seat, which has remained firmly in the blue column since 2010 boundary changes.

Former Conservative minister Nick Hurd - the fourth generation of his family to serve in the Commons - won two years ago with a 26.2% majority, with 30,555 votes giving him a 57.2% share, down 2.3% on the previous election in 2015.

However, he is stepping down after nine years.

"I have worked with David well over many years and he is an excellent choice," he said.

Mr Simmonds, awarded a CBE in the Queen's birthday honours list four years ago, was the youngest councillor in London when elected at 22.

He was widely expected to be named as the Conservative candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip five years ago until Boris Johnson threw his hat into the ring.