NORTH Wiltshire MP James Gray is delighted to have been given the countryside portfolio as part of a reshuffle of the Shadow Cabinet.

He was called before opposition Chief Whip David Maclean on Tuesday to be thanked for the job he has done in defence and to be given the job of shadow countryside minister.

"It is a bit like being called before the headmaster," said Mr Gray. "You never quite know what is going to happen. You might lose your job altogether or be given something in which you have no interest.

"But I was delighted by this. It is something that as an MP for a rural constituency I am very interested in."

It means that Mr Gray will play a key role in the coming debate on hunting. As a regular follower of the hounds, he is a hunt supporter but stressed the debate should be about freedom of choice.

He also hopes to fight the corner for village shops and post offices and highlight the need for better rural transport and the problem of rural poverty.

But Mr Gray stressed that his move from defence would in no way diminish his campaign to save RAF Lyneham.

"I have very much been fighting this cause as a constituency MP and if anything it makes it easier to continue to do so," he said.

He believes he can make a real difference in his new role. "So many areas of our rural life are currently under threat farming, tourism, the freedom to choose with regard to country sports are perhaps the most obvious," he said.

"But planning policy, house building, transport, rural poverty and deprivation will also be an important part of my new new job."