Local MPs have expressed outrage at the exclusion of representatives from Durham and Teesside from the new board of the North-East development agency.

They will meet Regional Development Minister Alan Johnson, to press him over reports that appointments to One NorthEast will be made up mainly from Tyneside.

It follows the MPs' anger at a decision not to reappoint North CBI vice-chairman Hugh Morgan Williams and rural task force chief Miles Middleton to the board.

Kevan Jones, MP for North Durham, said: "We want to raise with the minister why there is no one from the county on the board."

Derek Foster, MP for Bishop Auckland, said he would tell the minister that it was "distinctly odd" that Mr Morgan Williams had been dropped from the board.

"It makes me wonder what they are doing," he said.

He said that no one in the Northern Group of Labour MPs had been consulted about the new appointments.

The dropped members had been "outspoken" in their criticisms of the direction of the development agency, he said.

"Until we get a proper explanation, we must suspect that they have been saying things that are uncomfortable."

One NorthEast chairman John Bridge denied that there was any bias against County Durham in appointments to the board.

He would not confirm any details until the expected official announcement on Thursday.

He said: "The board is made up of people who are dedicated to the region. They understand the problems of Teesside and Durham just as much as those of Tyneside."

He said he could not comment on appointments to the RDA, as they were still in a process of consultation.