Justice Secretary David Lidington has been handed the disgraced Damian Green’s role, at Theresa May’s side – but will not be given his title as her effective deputy.
Mr Lidington will not be First Secretary of State – the title given to Mr Green, who resigned just before Christmas – but will take his job as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office.
No 10 said he would also chair the multiple Brexit committees previously overseen by Mr Green, handing him a crucial role in the reshuffled Cabinet.
It means the leadership of the committees charged with deciding the details of EU withdrawal will stay with a pro-EU MP who campaigned strongly for Remain in the referendum.
Labour quickly protested that the move meant more “chopping and changing in the Ministry of Justice”, amid controversies over bulging prisons and probation.
“This means there will have been 4 Justice Secretaries in just 18 months. Prisons, probation, courts and access to justice deserves better than this,” tweeted Richard Burgon, the party’s Shadow Justice Secretary.
Mr Green was sacked after a Cabinet Office inquiry found he had failed to tell the truth over the pornography found on his office computer a decade ago.
