Farming minister George Eustice has retained his position at Defra after new prime minister Theresa May announced a raft of junior ministerial appointments over the weekend.
The MP for Camborne and Redruth - who campaigned for the UK to leave the EU and supported Michael Gove’s bid to become PM - will remain as minister of state at Defra, reporting to new secretary of state and former Conservative leadership challenger Andrea Leadsom.
Eustice, who was promoted from the post of parliamentary under-secretary of state at Defra to minister of state in May 2015, will retain responsibility on matters including food and farming, animal health & welfare and marine & fisheries.
He said the Brexit vote presented the UK with an opportunity to “start with a clean sheet” in developing a food and farming policy free from the shackles of the EU in a speech at the Dairy UK dinner in London on 30 June, though nothing would change in the UK farming sector in the short term, and there was “no rush” to leave the EU, he added.
Eustice is joined at Defra by under secretaries of state Therese Coffey - who has previously worked for Mars - and life peer Lord Gardiner of Kimble - who is a former deputy CEO of the Countryside Alliance and was previously Defra’s spokesman in the House of Lords. The exact portfolio split in terms of ministerial responsibilities had not yet been decided, a Defra spokeswoman said.
The pair have replaced Rory Stewart, who has been promoted to minister of state at the Department for International Development.
Eustice previously worked with new boss Leadsom when they launched Eurosceptic group the Fresh Start Project in 2012.
Leadsom’s appointment as Defra secretary of state - replacing Liz Truss, who has become justice secretary - was welcomed by Efra committee chairman Neil Parish. However, her previous support for fox hunting drew criticism from animal rights campaigners.
Defra and Leadsom were urged to focus on developing a new domestic agricultural policy by NFU president Meurig Raymond, which encouraged growth, innovation, productivity and profitability. “We hope that Mrs Leadsom will champion British food and farming,” he added.
“Achieving equitable exit terms for the whole food chain and for consumers will be a very substantial negotiating challenge for all concerned,” added PTF director general Andrew Kuyk.
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