by political editor Paul Francis

Ashford MP Damian Green has been confirmed as the new government's immigration minister by Prime Minister David Cameron.

Mr Green, who secured a resounding victory as the Conservative candidate in the Ashford poll last week, had been the shadow immigration minister.

Speaking after his appointment was announced Mr Green said he is confident that differences over how to tackle the issue will not be a source of tension within the new coalition government.

Mr Green was confirmed as the new minister by David Cameron following the appointment of Theresa May as Home Secretary.

During the election campaign, stark differences emerged between the two parties over how to tackle immigration, with the Lib Dems urging an amnesty for those who had been living illegally here for ten years.

The issue was widely seen as one that influenced the way many voted.

David Cameron labelled the party’s amnesty pledge as a shambles and Mr Green, who in opposition had been the shadow immigration minister, said such an amnesty would only encourage more migrants.

But Mr Green said he was optimistic that any differences would be put aside and stressed the Conservatives had maintained their position on introducing a cap and there would be no amnesty.

He also pointed to the two parties’ shared view that child detention centres, which have been widely criticised by welfare groups and childrens’ charities, needed to be scrapped.

"Immigration is one of the areas where we explicitly negotiated what will happen. We will introduce a limit on non-EU migrants. That will be a priority – setting a limit once we have consulted with businesses and the public sector. Britain has always benefited from immigration but it has to be properly controlled. It has been out of control and that has given rise to the tensions we have seen."

On the question of how to tackle the problem of those who were in the country illegally, he said the answer lay in speeding up the processes to deal with deportation.

"One of the key things that needs to happen is to speed up the process from start to finish. A lot of the problems are caused by the sheer length of time some people have been in the system."

He also pledged a crackdown on employers taking on illegal immigrants as labour, saying that was the best way of finding those who were living here without permission.

Mr Green said the coalition government had got off to a good start. "It is exciting for all of us. It is not just new for the public, it is new for politicians as well."