THE North-East's only female MEP has told a gathering of successful women from the region that more needs to be done to attract women into politics.

Barbara O'Toole, told the meeting yesterday, in Newcastle, that 30 per cent of MEPs are women, but just 24 per cent of the UK's MEPs are female.

She said: "Here in the North-East, women are making great inroads into the business world, but are less visible in politics. This is a lost opportunity for the North-East and a waste of the real talent that exists here."