WORCESTER MP Robin Walker has announced he is backing Sajid Javid to become the next Prime Minister.

Mr Javid has been the MP for Bromsgrove since 2010, and Mr Walker said it was time for a "one-nation" leader who would keep the Conservative party on the middle ground of British politics and rule out a no-deal exit from the EU.

Mr Walker said: "We need a patriotic Prime Minister who can bring the country together and unite people to look to the future with confidence.

"We need someone who respects the result of both the 2014 referendum on the union and the 2016 referendum to leave the EU, but understands that for the UK to succeed it needs to be pragmatic, open, outward looking and confident in itself.

"We need someone with a proven track record of standing up for business and delivering in Government and we need someone tough and determined enough to secure a deal with the European Union who can say that they have always put the needs of citizens first.

"Of all the candidates in a crowded field I believe the best placed on all these counts is Sajid Javid.”

As home secretary, Mr Javid has been a vocal supporter of increased investment in the police and giving settled status to EU citizens already established in the UK.

He has also suggested a lower salary threshold for skilled migrants to help businesses recruit from overseas

Mr Walker added: "Brexit may be the number one issue that defines this contest and I am as determined as ever to deliver what my constituents and the British people voted for in leaving the EU.

"To defeat the divisive destructive campaign for a second referendum, which Labour are now embracing, we need a realistic and serious approach to delivering a deal.

"To succeed with that task, we need a leader who can inspire trust.

"As a successful Home Secretary Sajid will be respected by counterparts in Europe and the wider world and be strongly placed to make the case for security on the international field even as he stands up for law and order at home.”