Shropshire MPs welcome new Home Secretary Sajid Javid

Mr Javid, who becomes the first ethnic minority MP since Benjamin Disraeli to hold one of the four great offices of state, was appointed as Miss Rudd's successor yesterday.

Miss Rudd resigned after she "inadvertantly misled" MPs over targets for deporting illegal immigrants.

She last week denied that the Home Office had targets for removing illegal migrants when questioned by the home affairs select committee. It later emerged that such targets did exist and Miss Rudd resigned on Sunday night.

Mr Javid, the MP for Bromsgrove, said his "most urgent" task is to make sure people caught up in the Windrush fiasco were treated with the "decency and fairness" they deserved.

Telford MP Lucy Allan said she was sad to see Miss Rudd go, saying she had a firm grip on the issue of child sexual exploitation in the town.

She said: “The Home Office is a very challenging brief and the size of the department and its complexity makes it difficult to get things done.

“I am disappointed to see Amber Rudd go in these circumstances. She cared passionately about her work at the Home Office and in my dealings with her, she showed she fully understood child sexual exploitation in Telford."

However, she said she was pleased with the choice of Sajid Javid as Miss Rudd's successor.

"I have tremendous respect for Sajid Javid and I am confident that he has the right qualities to address the difficulties in the Home Office, including tackling the Windrush generation situation and our long-term immigration policy.”

Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, said he was saddened by Miss Rudd's resignation, saying she should not be held entirely to blame for the Windrush affair.

“I think there are many political fingerprints over the mishandling of Windrush cases, including going back to the Tony Blair years," he said. "But ultimately Amber Rudd felt she should resign given the handling of the issue over the last few weeks."

Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, said he supported Miss Rudd's decision to stand down, and said he believed Mr Javid had the qualities that would make a good Home Secretary.

Mr Kawczynski said he had been very impressed with Mr Javid during his recent dealings with him in his role as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

"I had numerous dealings with him over the local government finance settlement and he came across as a very hard negotiator, but also very fair and effective. I think he will make a very good Home Secretary.

"Amber Rudd made her decision, and the Prime Minister accepted it, so I would support that."

Ludlow MP Philip Dunne also spoke of his sadness at Miss Rudd's resignation, but said he was pleased that her successor was an MP from the Midlands; Mr Javid has been MP for Bromsgrove in Worcestershire since 2010.

"Amber Rudd was a very able cabinet minister, but she did the right thing in the circumstances," he said.

"I think the appointment of Sajid Javid is an inspired appointment, he's the right person to get to grips with the Home Office and the sensitive issues currently in the spotlight.

"As the son of a Pakistani bus driver, he is the first cabinet minister from this sort of background to rise to the Home Secretary's position. It's also good to have a West Midland MP in this position."

West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion welcomed Mr Javid's appointment, saying he had a strong track record in government as both Business Secretary and Communities Secretary.

“Sajid has always been exceptionally supportive on the numerous matters we have worked together on in the past. I know he understands our communities and is committed to making sure they are safe, happy and prosperous," he says.

"I look forward to working with him now in his new role to deliver on that commitment.”