Barrister David Lammy MP is to become lord chancellor and deputy prime minister in the government reshuffle triggered by Angela Rayner’s resignation today. Shabana Mahmood, sworn in as lord chancellor in July 2024, becomes home secretary. 

Lammy, previously foreign secretary, will be the tenth lord chancellor in a decade. He was called to the bar in 1994 and was appointed shadow justice secretary under Keir Starmer in 2020. 

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Today’s reshuffle means Mahmood’s appearance before the House of Lords constitution committee on Wednesday was one of her last, if not last, public appearances as justice secretary and lord chancellor.

Mahmood was questioned on potential ECHR reforms following her Council of Europe speech earlier this year and her decision to introduce a ministerial veto on sentencing guidelines for judges. She also hit out at recent political and media attacks on the judiciary in light of recent rulings.

Reducing the prison population and the Crown court backlog will be at the top of Lammy’s agenda. He may also revisit recommendations from his landmark 2017 race review on the criminal justice system that were not taken forward by the Conservative administration. Lammy has often criticised the lack of judicial diversity when talking about his review at past events.