Mid Dorset and North Poole MP Annette Brooke has been made a member of the Privy Council, the body that advises the Queen on affairs of state.

Mrs Brooke, who is due to stand down as Lib Dem MP at the next general election, said it was “a great honour” to be named as a Privy Counsellor.

She will join, amongst others, senior politicians who are, or have been, members of the House of Commons or the House of Lords.

Around 500 members of the Privy Council have made it to high public office.

Mrs Brooke said: “It is a great honour to have been named as Privy Counsellor and I hope that it is a reflection on my service and hard work as a member of parliament these past thirteen years.

“I want to thank everyone that has supported me over the years and helped make this great privilege a possibility.”

Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, has been in existence for hundreds of years, and its roles have changed.

Today it has a range of roles including advising the Queen on the exercise of her Royal Prerogative and issuing orders-in-council and orders of council behind many government regulations.

Mrs Brooke will be sworn into the council at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace, which is yet to be announced.