Theresa May has appointed Robert Goodwill agriculture minister, after George Eustice quit the job last week to fight for Brexit.

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Mr Goodwill, MP for Scarborough and Whitby MP backed Remain in the 2016 referendum, takes the rank of Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Mr Goodwill, who arrived in Parliament in 2005, served as a whip with responsibility for HM Treasury and Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs business.He was transport minister under David Cameron and was promoted to immigration minister, and then children's minister, by Mrs May before leaving the Government last year.

Michael Gove tweeted : "Delighted to welcome Robert Goodwill to the Defra team. Robert’s hands on knowledge of farming at the sharp end, experience in European politics, great ministerial record and shrewd judgment are an asset to Government."

Leave-backing Mr Eustice quit on February 28 after more than five years as agriculture minister, complaining the Prime Minister's decision to allow a vote on delaying the date of Brexit could result in "the final humiliation of our country".

Mr Goodwill, has been a farmer since 1979 of 250 acres of land near Malton, which has been in his family since 1850.

He  has also been the managing director of Mowthorpe Ltd since 1995, which offers environmentally friendly burials in the North Yorkshire countryside.

His responsibilities will include:

• better regulation
• fisheries
• food and farming, including CAP (Common Agricultural Policy), apprenticeships, exports, and bovine TB (tuberculosis) policy
• science and innovation