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    UK legislator: I'm swapping Big Ben for Big Apple

    Associated Press – Mon, Aug 6, 2012 9:47 AM EDT

    LONDON (AP) — A high profile British lawmaker says she is quitting the House of Commons to move to the United States with her family.

    Louise Mensch, elected in 2010 as a member of the governing Conservative Party after a career as the author of racy novels, said Monday she planned to leave Britain and move to New York.

    The 41-year-old legislator, who has three children, last year married Peter Mensch, manager of rock band Metallica, who lives in New York.

    In a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron, Mensch said she had been "struggling for some time to find the best outcome for my family life."

    Mensch was a member of Parliament's media committee and took a key role in questioning Rupert Murdoch and other executives over the tabloid phone hacking scandal.

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