Two Kent Labour MPs have taken up junior ministerial jobs following Gordon Brown’s re-shuffle.

Chatham and Aylesford MP Jonathan Shaw is to become minister for the disabled while

Gillingham MP Paul Clark has been appointed transport minister.

Mr Shaw, who will continue in his role as minister for the south east, said he hoped his experience as a social worker before becoming an MP would help in his new role.

He dismissed concerns among some Labour MPs over the return of Peter Mandelson to the cabinet but admitted he was surprised at the appointment. “He is a controversial figure but even his worst enemies would have to concede that he was extremely effective in the two departments he previously ran.”

Mr Clark’s appointment is likely to see him involved in key decisions affecting the county’s transport network, among them the job of determining whether to support plans for a 70-acre lorry park along the M20 to cope when Operation Stack is implemented.