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The Defra Secretary Steve Reed has outlined his five core priorities, acknowledging that confidence amongst farmers is 'lowest on record' and he is focused on supporting farmers to 'boost Britain's food security'. 

Defra

In a video messaged shared from his department online, Mr Reed said it would take 'years to reverse the damage that has been done', adding that the work of change 'has now begun.' 

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Five priorities 

He outlined his five core priorities as Defra Secretary 

• Cleaning up Britain's river, lakes and seas 
• Creating a road map to move Britain to a zero waste economy 
• Supporting our farmers to boost Britain's food security 
• Ensuring nature's recovery 
• Protecting communities from the dangers of flooding

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Mr Reed said: "It is a huge honour that the PM has appointed me as Defra Secretary

"This comes at a time when we are facing a crisis point. We have record levels of sewage in our rivers, lakes and seas - nature is dying."

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Mr Reed said the challenges the country faced were significant, but that 'together' change would happen.