Spelman confirmed as Defra Secretary

The Midland MP’s appointment was one of last to be confirmed by prime Minister David Cameron as he put together his first Conservative-Liberal Democrat cabinet.

This followed what appeared to protracted negotiations over the structure of Defra and the Department of Energy and Climate Change, which Lib Dem MP Chris Huhne has been put in charge of.

Ms Spelman said she was ‘delighted’ with her appointment. “The department is responsible for many of the things that are vital to our quality of life - the food we eat, the air we breathe and how we manage the land we live on and the seas that surround our shores.

“I will work across government and beyond to respond to the challenges of increasing food production, adapting to climate change, protecting our natural environment and ensuring we live sustainably.”

Ms Spelman has been the Member of Parliament for Meriden since 1997. Shadow Cabinet portfolios included International Development and Communities and Local Government and she was Tory environment spokesman under Michael Howard.

Before entering Parliament, she spent 15 years in the agriculture industry, with roles including deputy director of the International Confederation of European Beet Growers, as well as her NFU post, which she held in the early 1980s.

She was a research fellow for the Centre for European Agricultural Studies and has  authored a book on the non-food use of agricultural products.

She is married with three children.

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