Philip Mawer has been recommended as the next Commons sleaze watchdog, replacing Elizabeth Filkin.

Mawer, currently the secretary general of the Church of England's General Synod, was chosen by the House of Commons Commission.

MPs will now be asked to approve their decision next week.

Mawer said he would ask people to pray for him if he was given the job.

His recommendation was welcomed by Conservative MP Peter Bottomley, a member of the standards and privileges committee, as "a good choice".