East of England’s MEP has voiced her support for Theresa May, who is set to be the country’s next prime minister.

MEP Vicky Ford said the home secretary has the experience and credibility to lead the country at this “critical juncture”.

She said she supported Mrs May because of her reputation as a “calm and wise leader” in “difficult times” and because she is willing to “go the extra mile” to help Conservative candidates.

Mrs Ford worked with May’s team to introduce cross-border criminal record checks which she says are now delivering real results in crime prevention in the East of England.

Speaking about the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, she said we need to “respect the decision” of the British people and now focus attention on minimising economic uncertainty.

Mrs Ford, who voted to remain, said that as a nation we will have to do “a great deal of listening” in order to re-build trust with countries in the EU.

She said building new relationships will “take time and mutual respect” and that it will take “clear thinking and cool heads”.

She also said it will be “complicated” for the UK to negotiate these new relations however she is hopeful it can be achieved and in a mutually beneficial way.

To secure the best outcome for the country, and Europe, she said we need to be aware of the concerns of the 27 other EU countries.

After visiting Brussels and Strasbourg and meeting politicians from a number of EU countries, she said that EU members are still considering the implications Britain leaving will have on their own countries.

She said that the UK’s priorities are already being discussed in parliament and she thanked the East of England for coming together to establish groups that feed in to the negotiations.

After the referendum, Mrs Ford and the other Conservative MEPs met with the foreign secretary, Phillip Hammond.

He reminded them that until the UK leaves the EU we are still affected by the decisions being made and are paying contributions to its budget.

He urged them to not give up positions of British influence and Mrs Ford remains the chairman of the parliament’s internal market and consumer protection committee.