THIRSK and Malton MP Anne McIntosh has been elected chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee.

Ms McIntosh has taken up the post after working as a shadow minister for the Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs since 2007.

She will take over from Michael Jack has been chairman since 2003.

The National Farmers Union said it looked forward to working with her. President Peter Kendall said: “Anne McIntosh’s time in Europe, as a shadow Defra minister and as a rural MP, means that she has a good understanding of the agriculture brief and the challenges that lie ahead.”