The Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, Hugh Duberly, has appointed South East Cambridgeshire MP Sir Jim Paice as one of his new deputies.

As well as Sir Jim, the Lord Lieutenant has also appointed Colonel Roger Herriot,

Andrew Riddington and Penelope Walkinshaw.

Lord Lieutenants are the Queen’s personal representatives in the county or area. Their prime duty is to uphold the dignity of the Crown by arranging visits by members of the royal family and escorting royal visitors.

They present medals and awards on behalf of the Queen, and participate in civic, voluntary and social duties, as well as liaising with units of the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Royal Marines and their associated cadet forces.

Earlier this year, Sir Jim came under fire for taking on the role as chairman of the dairy farming co-operative First Milk while still an MP.

The Labour Party’s prospective candidate for the South East Cambs seat, Huw Jones, accused Sir Jim of not putting his constituents first by taking on the extra work.

But Sir Jim rejected the claims, saying he was completely committed to his constituents.

After losing his job as Minister for Food and Agriculture in 2012, Sir Jim announced he would be standing down from parliament at the next election in 2015.

Sir Jim has been an MP since 1987 and served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State from 1993 to 1997, and as Minister of State for Agriculture and Food from 2010 to 2012. He was appointed to The Privy Council in 2010 and knighted for public and political service in 2012.

In Cambridgeshire he is patron of a number of charities and a governor of King’s Ely.