The Foreign Secretary faced a packed room of constituents, as he held his first question and answer session with the public.

Philip Hammond, MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, spent about 45 minutes giving a roundup of what he has been doing globally and locally.

He said he had got the idea of holding the session from neighbouring Conservative MP Dominic Raab in Esher & Walton.

As part of discussions he made his feelings on Britain's part in the European Union clear, and said the country should adopt the slogan of "Britain where possible, Europe where necessary".

Mr Hammond said he had travelled throughout Europe and the majority of people he spoke to agreed there was a need for reform within the EU. He said: "The way the European Union is governed has got to change."

In the meeting at the Ship Hotel, Weybridge, on December 11, he discussed the recession, Britain's part in fighting the ebola epidemic the growth of Islamic extremism and "getting to grips with the threat", before the floor was opened to questions that included topics such as international aid, flooding, tuition fees and immigration.

Mr Hammond agreed that flooding is "probably the number one problem for local people" and alleviated fears surrounding the recently announced Lower Thames scheme funding.

One question was how easy it would be for the extra £60m funding, that will not come into effect until 2021, to be withdrawn if a new government came into power, or even if the current government changed its mind.

Mr Hammond said while he could not speak for future governments, he said: "I can promise you that George Osborne is absolutely committed on that."