Decision revealed the ‘pent-up anger’ felt in parts of country

Ashford MP Damian Green, who campaigned for the UK to stay in the EU, said the result was “a little bit of a surprise but not a shock”.

He added: “What this has shown is that we are a divided country and we need to heal the wounds, and the way to do that is to ensure we spread the prosperity we are getting from a strong economy.

In his column in today’s Kentish Express (see page 10), Mr Green said that after the Brexit result his email inbox was “full of messages from constituents demanding that the referendum be re-run”.

“No one worked harder than I did to campaign for a remain vote, and no one is more disappointed and angry than me.

“But we have to respect the democratically expressed view of the majority, however narrow the result.”

The MP added that the result had revealed a “pent-up anger” in many parts of Britain and although he was personally disappointed with the result “the people have spoken and must be respected.”

He added that many Ashford businesses depend on trade with other European countries “and the eventual settlement we achieve must do as much as possible to protect the position of these and the many jobs that are created by them.”

MP Damian Green was a campaigner for remain camp