Prime Minister Liz Truss has brought Ranil Jayawardena in as the Defra Secretary following her cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday evening.

The former International Trade under secretary, Jayawardena is replacing George Eustice to become the eighth Environment Secretary since 2010. The Brexit supporting North East Hampshire MP is a relatively unknown figure to farming, having previously worked as a local councillor before Westminster in 2015.

In 2019, Jayawardena won a majority of 34% with 35,280 votes. In parliament he founded the All-Party Parliamentary group on Endangered Species and according to the 'they work for you' website, his past voting record shows he has consistently voted against measures to prevent climate change.

The 36 year old MP is married with a son and two daughters and is seen as a Truss loyalist.

Responding to his new role, Mr Jayawardena said it was a 'privilege' to be appointed the Secretary of State for Defra: "From food security and backing British farmers, to water security and growing our rural economy, I know that there is much to do," he said, adding that it was also important to recognise where food came from.

"I recently met local farmers with the NFU, to discuss the government’s support for British farming and the export growth ahead."

Mr Jayawardena's time at the Department of International Trade had previously raised concerns from the farming sector over his free trade ideologies, with Cornish tenant farmer Rob Halliday capturing the mood in this tweet 'we mustn’t join a race to the bottom that damages the environment, welfare, health and consumer choice'.

Mr Eustice, who had been Defra Secretary since February 2020, said that it had been a 'privilege' to work within the department for the past nine years.

The current farming minister Victoria Prentis said she was 'very sorry' to see Mr Eustice leave the government.

She said: "As farming minister and more recently as Secretary of State, George – a farmer himself – has been an almost constant presence in Defra for nine years."