After a short pause and a grin, the Foreign Secretary described his time in the role as simply "busy".

Philip Hammond, MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, said: "It's been a busy time, they tell me in the office."

Reflecting on the past seven months as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, he lists the conflict in Ukraine, Libyan civil war and the ebola crisis as some of the biggest issues the office has dealt with. He notes the effect of radical extremist groups such as Isis as something his children will be discussing when they are his age.

While much of his work takes him away from his constituency, Mr Hammond does not feel he has neglected the area.

He said: "I hope my constituents still think that they still got a good service from us. All the case work is managed.

"I don't think anybody who is dealing with us in a normal case of business would have any reason to notice any difference in how we operated."

When asked if he was worried about his seat, he said: "I hope not."

A project he is passionate about is a European Union (EU) reform. Earlier in the year it was reported the Prime Minister challenged Mr Hammond to visit all 27 EU capital cities before the general election in May but he said it was his plan when he took the role.

He said: "I was intending to visit all 27 capitals of the EU to discuss with them the argument of the EU reform and get their opinion on that. The Prime Minister made a reference to that."

Mr Hammond is visiting four next week, Madrid, Lisbon, Valletta and Ljubljana, which will take him up to 22.

Of the countries he has spoken to so far, the majority are for a reform.

He said: "They really do not want Britain to leave the EU." He believes reforming the way the EU works could deliver "a Europe that the British people will want to stick with".