Brexit supporter Daniel Kawczynski MP praises Theresa May's Cabinet reshuffle

Daniel Kawczynski said he was delighted to see that the new PM is working under the impression "Brexit means Brexit".

The Shrewsbury and Atcham MP said: "There were some of us in the Conservative party who were worried about supporting a leader who campaigned for Remain. However, she has shown unequivocally that she is going to respect the wishes of the British people and initiate Brexit in a speedy and effective way.

"I am very encouraged by that and I think she will make a very good Prime Minister."

Midlands MP Gavin Williamson was all smiles as he left Downing Street having being appointed Government chief whip.

The South Staffordshire MP said he was "very privileged and very surprised" at being handed the role, which will see him take charge of party discipline.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin, a former Cannock miner, moved post to become Tory party chairman.

Mr Williamson has been MP since 2010 and was previously David Cameron's parliamentary private secretary. The 40-year-old played a key role in Mrs May's ascension to power as her parliamentary campaign manager, garnering the support of MPs in a leadership race that was almost over before it had started.

Mr McLoughlin, who was born in Stafford into a family of coal miners, said he was "delighted" to accept his new role as Conservative chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

"I want us to encourage more people to join the party."

Mr McLoughlin worked at the Littleton Colliery in Cannock during the 1980s and was a member of the National Union of Mineworkers.

He was also an industrial representative for the National Coal Board's Western Area Marketing Department.

Mr Kawczynski praised the inclusion of Leave campaigners into the team. He also revealed that, having returned from a Commons visit to France, there remained an appetite from foreign politicians to trade with the UK.

He added there are a number of investors working in the UK from European countries that are continuing to invest – including Veolia in Shrewsbury with a new waste site and said Britain would be a "good neighbour" to Europe.

Mrs May carried out a cull of some of David Cameron's closest allies in a shake-up that surprised commentators because of its ruthlessness.

After sacking Mr Cameron's right-hand man George Osborne within hours of taking office on Wednesday, Mrs May went on to take the axe to Michael Gove, Oliver Letwin, Nicky Morgan and John Whittingdale.

But Jeremy Hunt kept his job as Health Secretary, despite being widely tipped for the chop.

The new PM rewarded her leadership campaign manager Chris Grayling with the post of Transport Secretary, adding him to the phalanx of Leave backers in Cabinet which already included Boris Johnson, Liam Fox and David Davis.

Mr Kawczynski was pleased with the moves, adding: "David Davies is an extremely sound politician and somebody who has enormous respect across the Conservative party.

"It was very regrettable that David Cameron did not utilise his skills in the last Government, so I am pleased to see him given a position."

In other changes, failed leadership candidate Stephen Crabb quit the Cabinet "in the best interests of my family", days after The Times reported that he had sent sexually explicit WhatsApp messages to a young woman during the EU referendum campaign.

His job of Work and Pensions Secretary went to Damian Green, who served under Mrs May at the Home Office for four years as immigration minister and policing minister until his surprise sacking by Mr Cameron in 2014.

Mrs May's former number two at the Home Office, James Brokenshire, entered the Cabinet for the first time as Northern Ireland Secretary, replacing Theresa Villiers.

Ms Villiers announced she was resigning from the Government. She said she felt she could not stay after Mrs May told her she was being moved from the post she had held for almost four years and offered a job that was "not one which I felt I could take on".

A week after seeing his hopes of the Tory leadership dashed when he came third in a poll of Tory MPs, Mr Gove lost his Justice Secretary job to Liz Truss.

Ms Morgan's former role as Education Secretary went to another promoted woman, Justine Greening. Prominent Brexit backer Andrea Leadsom, who paved the way for Mrs May's rapid elevation to the premiership by pulling out of the Tory leadership contest on Monday, was promoted from energy minister to the Cabinet role of Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

And Sajid Javid, a protege of Mr Osborne's, was moved sideways from the Business Department to become Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Sacked ministers put a brave face on their departures in public statements. Mr Gove said that being a Cabinet minister for six years had been "an enormous privilege" and wished the new Government the "best of luck", while Mr Whittingdale wished his successor "every success".

Ms Morgan said she was "disappointed" not to be continuing as education secretary and minister for women and equalities.

Meanwhile, a day after their ejection from Government, Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne were spotted nursing their wounds over coffees with their families at a terrace cafe in Notting Hill. They were apparently not noticed by passers-by.

As the new cabinet got to work, Mr Kawczynski said he felt optimistic about the future and said he had enjoyed a positive meeting this week with politicians in Paris.

He said: "We want to get back to working with other countries without us being the surly lodger.

"We are going to be a good neighbour rather than the surly lodger we have been over the last years."