Calls for disgraced Luton South MP Margaret Moran to stand down now instead of waiting until the next election have been rejected by Luton Borough Council.

A motion was put forward by outraged Liberal Democrat councillors at a full meeting of the council on Tuesday, calling for Ms Moran to resign now.

They said such a move would protect Luton residents from "unnecessary and wasteful spending of the hard earned money they pay in taxes".

But Labour councillors unanimously threw the motion out and backed Ms Moran to keep her seat in Parliament until the next general election next summer.

Councillor David Franks, leader of the local Liberal Democrats, said: "Surprise was my first reaction. I really don't know how they can justify supporting a disgraced MP who is currently absent from her constituency. Everyone you speak to around the town wants her to go.

"We'll continue to do whatever we can to put pressure on her because her constituents deserve someone who is going to fight for Luton."

If the motion had been passed, a copy of it would have been sent to Ms Moran's Luton office, though Luton Borough Council have no say on whether she should stay or go.

But Councillor Mahmood Hussain, who chairs the Labour group for Luton South, defended the councillors' decision to reject the motion.

He said: "The matter is nothing to do with Luton Borough Council, it's to do with Parliament. She'll be standing down in nine or ten months anyway.

"As a party, we are more interested in trying to find a new candidate who can fight for us at the next general election."