A mother has abandoned her baby boy in an east London hospital a few hours after giving birth.

In a case described as "heartbreaking" by police, the boy, named Charlie by nurses, was left by the woman who police think gave a false name.

She told staff her name was Katalena Sctarra and she is believed to be aged 25 and from Birmingham.

The mother was last seen walking towards the car park at Newham General Hospital on Wednesday night.

She had gone into labour outside a shop in East Ham on Wednesday evening and a passer-by called an ambulance.

She was taken to hospital and gave birth minutes after arriving.

Just before midnight "Miss Sctarra" went outside the hospital to have a cigarette and then disappeared.

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Special election court heard Labour MP knowingly made false claims as experts predict profound changes for future polls

Phil Woolas, the shadow immigration minister, faces being ejected from parliament after a court ruled today that he had breached election laws by falsely claiming his Liberal Democrat opponent had "wooed" extremist Muslims in the run-up to the 6 May poll.

For the first time in 99 years a specially convened election court has overturned the result of a parliamentary poll and ordered a rerun after two high court judges ruled the result of the Oldham East poll void. They upheld the claim by Elwyn Watkins that Woolas knowingly made false statements.