Meet Edinburgh's new MPs: Chris Murray, Labour MP for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh

Chris Murray, newly elected in Edinburgh East & Musselburgh, has an impressive CV for a new MP.

The son of former Labour MP and MSP Margret Curran, he studied at Oxford University, the London School of Economics and Harvard University in the United States.

Edinburgh East & Musselburgh MP Chris Murray used to work at the British embassy in Paris | TSPL

He spent two years as political assistant to leading Labour MP Harriet Harman, then joined the Foreign Office, working at the British embassy in Paris, dealing with British-French relations on justice and home affairs, including migration and the Dover-Calais border.

He moved to the charity Save the Children and then the think tank IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research) and for the past five years has been working with councils across Scotland to combat human trafficking. 

He has also chaired the board of a charity working with destitute migrants. "You get to see how it really is the most vulnerable people who are experiencing the real hard edge of what is happening with the breakdown of public provision."

Born and brought up in Glasgow, he moved to Edinburgh nine years ago. "Edinburgh's population is going up - part of it is Glaswegians moving here and I'm one of them. It's a bone of contention with my family that I now prefer Edinburgh to Glasgow, but I do.

"I've lived in cities in different parts of the world and I think Edinburgh is the best city. It's just the most fantastic place, it's got all the raw materials for the 21st century - the culture sector, the heritage, the hospitality and tourism sector, which is the backbone of the economy, the universities, financial services, biotech, beaches and the countryside just there."    

Meet all the new Edinburgh and Lothian MPs