Hampstead Town councillor Maria Higson has stepped down as a governor at the Royal Free Hospital Trust.

Cllr Higson, who won her Hampstead Town seat last year, said she has chosen to step down after the trust’s interim secretary found she couldn’t be a member of both Camden Council’s Health and Adult Social Care Scrutiny Committee and a Royal Free’s governor.

Until now, the 28-year-old had stepped back from the committee on agenda items regarding the Royal Free Hospital. This is after an agreement with the hospital following her election in May last year.

Cllr Higson, who has lived in Hampstead since September 2016, said: “With a heavy heart I have taken the decision that I can do more good serving as a councillor on Camden’s health and adult social care committee, overseeing not just the Royal Free, but the broader system.”

She will continue to sit on the Royal Free’s Environmental Liaison Group, and Pears Building Construction Working Group.