A Brighton-born Green Party activist is to be the new Deputy Mayor of London.

Jenny Jones was chosen for the £67,000-a-year post by Mayor Ken Livingstone, replacing Labour's Nick Gavron.

The mayor has taken the decision because he wants to rotate the post between the parties.

Ms Jones had a great-grandfather called Will Evans who was a Labour councillor in Brighton.

She said: "He was clearly a visionary and a radical, concerned with justice for the poor and for the widest democracy possible in Brighton."

Jenny Jones is one of three Green Party Members of the London Assembly.

She was appointed as the mayor's first road safety ambassador last year and has been actively campaigning to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on London's roads.

She marched with CND as a student in 1968 and worked as a volunteer with Shelter. She joined the Greens in 1988 and was chair of the national executive from 1995 to 1997.

Simon Williams, Green councillor for St Peter's and North Laine in Brighton, said: "This is great news if confirmed.

"Brighton-born, with a long family history in the city, Jenny may not quite be Brighton's answer to Dick Whittington but she'll make a great deputy mayor for London, holding Ken to his promises to improve quality of life for Londoners."