Witham's MP is to chair the Great Eastern Main Line Rail Taskforce.

The appointment was made yesterday at a meeting held in Parliament.

Priti Patel was a founding member of the GEML Rail Taskforce when it was established in 2013.

Mrs Patel takes over from Colchester MP Will Quince, with the Taskforce being made up of representatives from elected MPs, and the business community along the GEML.

She said: “I am pleased to be leading the work of the Rail Taskforce and look forward to working with colleagues and key stakeholders across the region to deliver the rail improvements the region needs.

"The East of England and Anglia region is an engine of economic growth and we can support more jobs creation and business growth with investment in modernising the rail network.”

“Commuters are paying a lot of money for a service that is often poor and causes misery to many.

"Getting new investment in key new infrastructure improvements will make a big difference to improving services and improving capacity and performance for the future.”