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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Jane Corscadden

New Northern Ireland Secretary of State: Shailesh Vara replaces Brandon Lewis after resignation

Northern Ireland has a new Secretary of State after the resignation of Brandon Lewis.

Shailesh Vara - who has served North West Cambridgeshire as an MP since 2005 - has now been assigned to the post.

Mr Lewis was among previously-loyal cabinet ministers who told the prime minister on Wednesday that he needed to step down from office due to a loss in support.

Read more: Brandon Lewis "shamefully placated the DUP", says Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill

But what do we know about Shailesh Vara? We've put together some information on the MP's career so far.

Who is Shailesh Vara?

Mr Vara is a Ugandan-British politician who has been a Conservative MP for the North West Cambridgeshire constituency since 2005. He is the former Vice-Chairman of the Conservative Party.

He moved to Britain from Uganda with his family when he was four-years-old in 1964. He was educated at Aylesbury Grammar School and Brunel University before qualifying as a solicitor.

Vara has been a senior legal adviser and business consultant for London First, and is vice-president of the Small Business Bureau.

In 2016, he confirmed his support for Michael Gove in the Conservative Party's leadership contest. He said: "I have worked very closely with Michael Gove at the Ministry of Justice and have been very impressed with him.

"He is a man of conviction with a very sharp intellect. He cares passionately about Britain and I believe he has the necessary qualities to lead our negotiations with the EU."

In January 2018, Shailesh Vara was appointed to the Northern Ireland Office under then Secretary of State, Karen Bradley.

He resigned from his position in November of that year in response to the government's proposed Brexit agreement, which he said did not honour the outcome of the referendum.

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