CAMDEN'S sole Green councillor has announced she will not seek re-election.

Councillor Maya De Souza told members over the Easter weekend that she will step down after eight years at the Town Hall. The announcement came as the Greens revealed they have assembled a full slate of candidates for next month's council elections for the fourth boroughwide elections in a row.

Cllr De Souza was elected in 2006 when the party won all three seats in Highgate ward. But she was the only Green to retain her seat four years later after a Labour fightback.

The split ward is predicted to be one of the closest contests at the boroughwide polls with Labour desperate to make a gain.

Cllr De Souza said: "Working both as a civil servant and a councillor has never been an easy balancing act, and as a result of changes in my role, sadly I don’t feel able to continue with this. Working with the committed, diverse and stimulating people in the ward and in Camden has been one of the most fulfilling parts of being a councilor and I’d like to thank you all for your support."

The Greens will fight Highgate with a new team spearheaded by former London mayoral candidate Sian Berry. The other candidates are designer Matt Johnston and Robert McCracken QC, a planning lawyer.

Cllr De Souza said: “I am delighted to be handing over the baton of Green politics to a strong new Highgate Green team. Sian, Matt and Robert have a great deal to offer to Highgate residents, and to Camden as a whole, and I hope they will be welcomed by voters in Highgate to replace me as their councillor.”