TRIUMPHANT South Dorset MP Jim Knight today vowed that constituency work will come first despite being appointed a junior minister in Tony Blair's new government.

Mr Knight received a call from the Prime Minister asking him to take the role of parliamentary under-secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The new position means Mr Knight's pay increases from £59,095 to £86,173.

Today Mr Knight promised his new job would not affect his work as a constituency MP. He said: "My challenge is to make sure my first concern is to work for the constituency. Because I'm a government minister now people won't hear me asking constituency issues in Parliament.

"But the trust will have to be there that I will use my position to raise local issues to other ministers and continue to work for South Dorset."

Mr Knight, 40, described himself as 'pleasantly surprised' being asked to assume his new role.

He said: "I was expecting to be asked to do something, but I wasn't expecting this particular responsibility."

Mr Knight added that he was looking forward to working with Margaret Beckett, secretary of state for Defra, on a number of issues, including climate change.

In last week's General Election Mr Knight bucked the nationwide swing to the Conservatives by increasing his majority from 153 to 1,812.

After hearing of his return to power he said: " I am absolutely delighted with the result. There were moments when I thought it wasn't going to happen for me.

"But looking back over the last four weeks the reaction I have received from the electorate has been overwhelmingly positive.

"I know there were people who had doubts about the party nationally and the issues I have supported but I have worked very hard and people have listened to me ...It was a vote of confidence for me."

"When people ask me what sort of majority I would have been happy with I thought doubling it would have done - but to increase it by 10 times is absolutely overwhelming."