New Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has appointed Hayes & Harlington MP John McDonnell as shadow chancellor.

There is also a first front bench role for Feltham & Heston MP Seema Malhotra, who was made shadow chief secretary to the treasury, a junior position in the shadow cabinet.

Mr McDonnell ran Mr Corbyn's campaign and is a long-standing political ally of the new party supremo, so his role has not come as a huge surprise to many.

But some political commentators have raised eyebrows at the decision to appoint a close friend to such a key position, saying it leaves Mr Corbyn open to accusations of cronyism.

Tom Watson was elected Labour's new deputy leader on Saturday, but the shadow chancellor role is arguably the more senior position within the opposition ranks.

A number of former Labour frontbenchers, including leadership contenders Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall, had already ruled themselves out of serving in a Corbyn shadow cabinet due to ideological differences.

Jeremy Corbyn is the new leader of the Labour party

Mr McDonnell, who was elected to parliament in 1997, had previously put himself forward to represent the party's far left in the Labour leadership elections of 2007 and 2010 but failed to make the ballot.

He is the Parliamentary Convenor of the Trade Union Co-Ordinating Group of eight trade unions representing over half a million workers, and before entering parliament, he served as a researcher for the National Union of Mineworkers - then the Trades Union Congress.

He served as deputy leader of the Greater London Council in the early 80s before being removed by then leader Ken Livingstone due to a row over his handling of the budget.

When he was awarded a fellowship by Birkbeck University, where he used to study, he was described by Joanna Bourke as a "tireless advocate for the downtrodden".

In a blog on his website last month, Mr McDonnell had urged people to "ignore the hysteria" from within the party and outside over Mr Corbyn's economic proposals.

He wrote that the Labour leader to be was "committed" to eliminating the deficit, adding "our plans to tax the very rich and reshape the economy are sound common sense".

MP for Feltham & Heston Seema Malhotra

Although Mr McDonnell's political links to the new Labour leader are clear to see, Ms Malhotra's are less obvious.

She had backed Yvette Cooper, under whom she previously served under as parliamentary private secretary, in the leadership race.

She also voted earlier this year to replace the Trident fleet of nuclear submarines, in contrast to both Mr Corbyn and Mr McDonnell, though only 39 MPs voted against doing so.

She said: "Our big task is winning the country's confidence back on the economy. We will be reaching out to engage the views of the Parliamentary Labour Party and the wider party and I will be working with John in that task.

"Those who aspire to a better life for themselves and their families need a Labour government that is guided by the principles of fairness and that's what we will work to achieve."

There has been criticism from some Labour MPs of the lack of women in the traditionally most prestigious roles in Mr Corbyn's shadow cabinet.

But Mr McDonnell told the BBC the shadow cabinet would be "gender-balanced" and said the real top jobs were those providing services like health and education.