Barrister David Lammy MP is to become lord chancellor, secretary of state for justice 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.

Update 6 September: Baroness Levitt (Alison Levitt KC) replaces Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede as justice spokesperson in the Lords. Levitt was called to the bar in 1998 and from 2009-2014 was principal legal adviser to Keir Starmer as director of public prosecutions. In 2014 she moved to London firm Mishcon de Reya to  head the business crime group before returning to private practice at the bar. In 2021 she became a circuit judge, resigning this year on her appointment to the Lords. 

Barrister Ellie Reeves MP has been appointed solicitor general. She replaces Lucy Rigby, who was appointed In December 2024. Rigby becomes economic secretary to the Treasury. 

No changes to ministerial portfolios have yet been announced.  

 

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