AN MP who hails from Kidderminster has become a member of the Government.

Labour's Tom Watson, who won the West Bromwich East constituency in 2001, has been promoted to a junior position in the treasury.

The 36-year-old former King Charles I High School pupil is the new parliamentary private secretary to Paymaster General Dawn Primarolo.

Mr Watson, who has just been made vice-president of Kidderminster's Old Carolians Association, said: "I'm very pleased to have been asked to become part of the treasury's important team.

"The treasury's work to build a strong and stable economy is absolutely crucial to the Government as a whole."

Chancellor Gordon Brown commented: "Tom has done a first-class job since becoming an MP, winning respect for his hard work in parliament, not just in the Labour Party and the Government but on all sides of the house."

Kidderminster-born Mr Watson is a former political officer of the Amicus-AEEU engineering union and has also worked for the Save The Children Fund.

The keen Kidderminster Harriers fan was elected two years ago with a majority of 9,763 in the safe Labour seat of West Bromwich and is a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee.