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The new Conservative MP for Totnes told colleagues in Parliament he is following in the footsteps of a mystic and a communist spy.

Anthony Mangnall won the Devon seat at the December General Election, defeating Sarah Wollaston who switched from the Tories to the Liberal Democrats, via the short-lived Change UK.

Mr Mangnall referred to his distant predecessors in his maiden speech in the House of Commons.

He revealed one constituent had decided to vote for him on the basis of whether he liked Marmite, and added: Given that one of my predecessors was a communist spy and another a mystic, I feel it is only acceptable for me to outline what sort of politician I might be.

The communist spy Mr Mangnall referred to in his speech was Ray Mawby, Conservative MP for Totnes from 1955 to 1983.

The BBC revealed in 2012 that Czech security service files showed Mr Mawby was in its pay for a decade.

The documents were handed to the BBC after the end of the Cold War and the collapse of Communism in eastern Europe

Local members of the Conservative Party expressed their surprise at the allegations against their former MP, who died in 1990.

The Czech papers revealed Mr Mawby was a gambler and began accepting loans while playing roulette and other games.

He later went on to accept payments, usually for 100 a time, for information and was given the codename Laval, it was reported.

Mr Mawby became assistant postmaster general and a junior minister in 1963.

His handler feared the promotion could end their arrangement as it meant a salary increase of 2,000 a year, yet Mr Mawby reportedly continued his meetings.

It was alleged he supplied spies with a floor plan of the Prime Ministers Commons office, lists of parliamentary committees, information about colleagues and a supposedly confidential parliamentary investigation into a Conservative peer.

The BBC said the file showed the relationship ending in November, 1971.

The mystic was Henry Vivian, who won the Totnes seat at the 1923 General Election, only to lose it to the next year the previous Tory MP Samuel Harvey.

Devon-born Vivian, a trade unionist and Liberal Party politician, was described as a practical mystic.

In another colourful political episode, a long-serving MP for the area stepped down after becoming involved in the MPs expenses scanda

Sir Anthony Steen represented the South Hams constituency, later renamed Totnes, from 1983 to 2010.

He decided to step down as MP for Totnes after the Daily Telegraph reported in 2009 he had claimed more than 87,000 in expenses at his constituency mansion, which was designated as his second home.

He told the BBC at the time that the claims were for maintenance to his home and garden.

He said the issue was of jealousy and he had done nothing wrong, but had discovered constituents were angry about it.

Sir Anthony told a BBC interviewer: "I think I behaved, if I may say so, impeccably. I've done nothing criminal, that's the most awful thing, and do you know what it's about? Jealousy.

I've got a very, very large house. Some people say it looks like Balmoral. It's the photographs, it looks like Balmoral, but it's a merchant's house of the 19th century. It's not particularly attractive, it just does me nicely it's got room to actually plant a few trees."

Sir Anthony blamed the Conservative Government for the Freedom of Information Act which led to the information being released, and said it had mucked up the parliamentary expenses system.

While an MP, he led work to raise awareness of human trafficking and modern slavery in the UK and across Europe. He carried on with the work after leaving Parliament and was knighted for his efforts in 2015.

Mr Mangnall told MPs in his speech he had been working with politicians for the last 12 years, including a campaign in 2012 which saw the creation of an initiative to prevent sexual violence in conflicts.

By 2014 more than 150 countries had signed up to a commitment to tackle the issue.

Last year he said he played a small role in helping to shut down the UKs domestic trade in ivory.

Mr Mangnall said hehad a background in the shipping industry which he said gave him experience of international trade.

He told MPs: Those of us who have the privilege to sit in this historic Chamber know that knocking on doors across constituencies enables us to see the very best of our communities and country, from the constituent who decided to vote for me depending on my like or dislike of Marmite, to the enthusiastic member of the public who greeted me and the Prime Minister as her little teddy bears - we have all been there.

This House now has the duty and expectation to restore our peoples faith in this Parliament, honour our promises, and tackle the burning issues of the day for the good of the country and to demonstrate our global ability.

The Totnes parliamentary constituency includes the towns of Totnes, Dartmouth and Kingsbridge, and stretches from Dartmoor to the south Devon coast betweenBanthamandBrixham.

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The 'mystic' and 'communist spy' who were Devon MPs - Devon Live