Northern Ireland's new secretary of state Paul Murphy has spent his first hours in office "learning and listening".

Mr Murphy also spoke with the province's former first and deputy first ministers on Friday morning.

The former Welsh secretary, who replaced John Reid following a cabinet reshuffle, also met members of the public in County Down as he began his first day in office.

On Thursday, Mr Murphy hosted a dinner at Hillsborough Castle for his new colleagues at the Northern Ireland Office.

John Reid has been appointed chairman of the Labour Party

His appointment has been welcomed by most of the key political players in the province but he faces a difficult task in trying to put the peace process back on track.

Speaking at Bangor, where he met people at a shopping centre, Mr Murphy said it was "good to be back".

"I have got a lot of listening to do over the next few weeks," he said.

"I have started already by listening to my ministerial colleagues and I've already talked to David Trimble and Mark Durkan briefly.

"We will be talking to the leaders of the other parties in the next few hours I hope and then of course learning and listening and reading and hopefully then talking in a lot more detail to people who are in the know here."

Much will prove familiar to Mr Murphy from his time as former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam's political development minister, when he dealt with many of the same politicians who continue to play a leading role.

Take stock

However, other things have changed.

Mr Murphy has a new team of junior ministers who are themselves still grappling with their fresh responsibilities after the suspension of the power-sharing executive.

Speaking shortly after his appointment, Mr Murphy said the government's priority of implementing the Agreement would not alter following his appointment.

"It is very important that we secure the achievements of the Agreement for the long-term," he said.

The appointment of Charles Clarke as the new education secretary left a vacancy and Dr Reid, who was secretary of state for just under two years, was named as his successor.

Meanwhile, the prime minister and the Taoiseach have discussed the peace process on the fringes of an EU summit in Brussels.

Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern are taking the opportunity to take stock following the suspension of the institutions.