Boris Johnson has begun filling some of the many vacant roles in his government. After he sacked Michael Gove, and a number of other Cabinet members quit, key cabinet roles were left vacant and some Government departments have no ministers.
The new-look cabinet met at 3pm on July 7, 2022, for the first time. There is still no clarity about what the timetable for Mr Johnson's departure will be, that is not likely to be set until the week of July 11.
Here are the appointments confirmed by Downing Street so far:
Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark becomes Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. He replaces Michael Gove who was sacked by Boris Johnson. A former chair of the Science and Technology Select Committee between 2020 and 2022. In July 2016, he was appointed as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy by new Prime Minister Theresa May and remained in that role until July 2019 when he had the whip removed for voting against the government
Secretary of State for Education
James Cleverly MP becomes education secretary, replacing Nadim Zahawi and then Michelle Donelan, who held the role for just 24 hours. Mr Cleverly is MP for Braintree in Essex. He has been Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2018 to 2019 and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union from April to July 2019. Mr Cleverly was demoted from the Cabinet in the February 2020 reshuffle and was subsequently appointed Minister of State for Middle East and North Africa. He became Minister of State for Middle East, North Africa and North America in December 2021, before being appointed Minister of State for Europe and North America in February 2022.
Welsh Secretary
Robert Buckland has been named the new Welsh secretary, replacing Simon Hart who quit on Wednesday, July 7. In his resignation letter shared on Twitter on Wednesday night, he said: "I had desperately hoped that I could avoid writing this letter, but alas there seems no other option left but to step down from my role as Secretary of State for Wales.
"You will be remembered as a Prime Minister with energy, vision, determination and humour. There was never a dull moment as a Minister in your Government, and I will be forever grateful to have been given the chance to be part of it.
"I have never been a massive fan of Ministerial resignations being the best means of forcing change. Colleagues have done their upmost in private and public to help you turn the ship around, but it is with sadness that I feel we have passed the point where this is possible." You can read that here.
Duchy of Lancaster
Kit Malthouse, former policing minister, has become Duchy of Lancaster. That's a role formerly held by Michael Gove and current health secretary Steve Barclay. He was Minister of State for Crime and Policing at the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice from 2020 to 2022. He was the Minister for Crime, Policing and the Fire Service from 2019 to 2020.
Northern Ireland secretary
Shailesh Vara MP becomes Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. A former Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party and has been shadow deputy leader of the House of Commons. He previously held Parliamentary Under Secretary of State roles at the Ministry of Justice and Department of Work and Pensions, before being appointed to the Northern Ireland Office but resigned after 11 months over the proposed Brexit agreement.
Minister without portfolio
Andrew Stephenson MP is named minister without portfolio who will attend Cabinet. Mr Stephenson is MP for Pendle in Lancashire. He's held a number of roles, most recently as a minister at the Department for Transport. He was previously Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development.
Minister of State (Minister for Veterans' Affairs)
Johnny Mercer MP has been named Minister for Veteran's Affairs and will attend cabinet. The former British Army officer and MP for Plymouth Moor View previously served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence People and Veterans until April 2021, when he was dismissed by Johnson after notifying the chief whip that he wanted to resign.
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