SERVING the people of Braintree was an “amazing privilege”, outgoing MP Brooks Newmark has said.

Speaking exclusively to the Times ahead of his last week as an MP, Mr Newmark said even though the manner of his exit from British political life left him feeling “sad”, he still looks back with pride on his decade serving Braintree.

Mr Newmark said: “It’s a great thing to be able to come to Parliament to represent the area that you live in.

“Even though I have only been here for ten years, it’s a long time and you get to know a lot of people. My constituents are like an extension of my family.”

Mr Newmark, who is married and has five children, was forced to call time on his political career after revelations in Sunda y newspapers about sexting and relationships with other women.

Although he regrets what happened, Mr Newmark said it cannot undo his achievements.

He said: “Getting the Braintree Community Hospital built was for me very important.

“That was quite a long battle, whichIhad worked on before I even became an MP, soIwas delighted with it.

“I think in Halstead, probably the most contentious issue was the threat of closing the postal depot, whichIgot involved in with the community and worked hard to make sure it stayed open.”

Mr Newmark said helping to solve flood problems in villages in the north of the constituency and blocking the construction of a 300 panel solar farm were also highlights.

He has also been closely involved in children’s charity Parc and raised £40,000 for the charity by running the London Marathon in 2008.

He said: “I have really enjoyed representing the area, I think my constituents have been incredibly nice to me and shown a great generosity of human spirit.

“Particularly in the last six months when I have had an incredibly difficult personal time. I am so grateful to everybody who has supported me.”

BLUE-BLOODED BROOKS ON UKIP

RUMOURS Brooks Newmark had considered defecting to Ukip are untrue, according to the former minister.

On the day he resigned, Tory MP for Rochester and Strood Mark Reckless followed in the footsteps of Clacton MP Douglas Carswell and defected to the right-wing Eurosceptic party.

Weeks later, Mr Newmark and Ukip leader Nigel Farage (pictured) were spotted having lunch in a London restaurant, sparking rumours Mr Newmark would defect.

Mr Newmark said: “When Nigel was a Young Conservative he and I knew each other very well.

“He is a good friend, it doesn’t matter that he is a leader of another party.

“We were both Eurosceptic, but I decided my way was to try and fight our corner in the Conservative Party.

“We go out to lunch now and again and have a good heated discussion on things.

“But I’m afraid I have blue blood running through my veins, although he does try to tempt me. I’ve also tried to tempt him.

“I am always saying ‘Come on Nigel, just give up’.

“It’s not impossible that a lot of them could come back to us.

“They have been doing well in local elections and by-elections, but I think people recognise there is a distinct difference between Conservative and Labour at this election, and I just don’t see them getting a huge number of seats.”

"Don’t be like me and ‘blow up’ your life"

BROOKS Newmark thinks it is “highly unlikely” he will ever seek elected office again.

He said: “That chapter of my life is behind me and I don’t want to go back into the private sector.

“I had ten interesting years here and it’s something a lot of people don’t get the chance to do. We only live once and the more varied life is the better.

“Sometimes things happen for a reason.”

Mr Newmark suffered from anorexia as a teenager and said his behaviour was brought on by a life-long battle with depression.

Despite the huge strain it has put on his family, he said the process has been cathartic.

Mr Newmark said: “It was very odd, it sort of relieved me of pressure. It was as if the things I had been striving to achieve suddenly meant nothing.

“I think the most important thing is to find peace and happiness, I think that’s a much better ambition than striving for wealth or titles.

“I had everything I had ever wanted in my life and it didn’t make me happy.

“I think people sometimes look at MPs as something that is supposed to be not human, but we are human and we have our own struggles and weaknesses.

“When it comes to mental health issues it is just something people don’t talk about.

“My own lesson for other people is if you don’t address it you end up like me – slightly blowing up your life.”

Mr Newmark now intends to take up a position as a researcher into international missing persons at Oxford University, as well as working on a report about homelessness in the UK.

He also funds a primary school in Rwanda and intends to do some teaching there.