A KIRKLEES MP has joined consumer watchdogs warning of a new Westminster scam.

West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service and Mike Wood, MP for Batley and Spen, are warning people about an innovative scam mail using the names of high-profile politicians.

The scam came to light when a constituent in the Batley area received an email apparently from the Prime Minister David Cameron.

The email offered the recipient access to a long lost inheritance fund and cites William Hague, Secretary of State for the Foreign Office, as the person responsible for processing the inheritance claim.

Graham Hebblethwaite, chief officer of West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service, warned: “This is a new take on an old trick, and is likely to be a form of identity theft, or advanced fee fraud.”

It appears the sender of the email is based in Chile.