North Herefordshire MP Bill Wiggin pays tribute to a brave policeman, and criticises the Hereford Times in his regular column for the newspaper

I WOULD like to start by paying tribute to our brave emergency services, following reports last week of a police officer and police dog who were injured in a knife incident in Bromyard.

We must never forget the incredible hard work that our police and other emergency services do to keep us all safe, and I wish both parties the very best in their recovery.

I was absolutely delighted to have been re-selected for the next General Election as the Conservative Candidate for North Herefordshire recently.

I am very proud to have been the MP for North Herefordshire since 2001, and I remain determined to speak up for my constituents in Westminster and continue to win Government support for the funding and change that we need.

However on May 31, the editor of the Hereford Times chose to publish a letter suggesting that I was paid for writing this column.

As the editor well knows, I receive no payment for this and it is a shame to have to once again clarify misinformation.

The fact that the editor has deliberately chosen to publish this sort of misleading information is what makes me so passionate about fighting for Press accountability and accessible low-cost arbitration.

In the age of information overload we need quality from our papers.

I write this column not for the editor but for the readership of the Hereford Times who are my constituents.

I am delighted to provide updates for the people of North Herefordshire from Westminster and on my activities in the constituency, and will continue to for as long as I have the opportunity to do so.

As I am sure many readers will be aware, the EU Withdrawal Bill returned to the House this week.

I receive a huge amount of correspondence from constituents on both sides of the debate, however I have been clear of my commitment to respecting the referendum result and representing the 59% of people in North Herefordshire who voted to leave.

The recent Labour amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill is nothing more than an attempt to frustrate Brexit and goes against their manifesto promise to honour the referendum result.

This amendment would mean accepting free movement and continuing to follow a huge swathe of EU rules with absolutely no say in them, something I am certain no-one voted for.

It is only the Conservative Government who are working hard for, and will deliver, the best possible Brexit deal.