The appointment of two new ministers of state appears to have completed a ministerial reshuffle at the Ministry of Justice following Dominic Raab’s return as lord chancellor.
Edward Argar MP, a former chief secretary to the Treasury, has been appointed minister of state along with Damian Hinds MP, a former education secretary. The department has not revealed their individual briefs but it is likely that one of them will replace Rachel Maclean, whose departure was announced today, as minister of state for victims and vulnerability.
In the more junior ranks, Mike Freer MP has been reappointed parliamentary under secretary of state. His previous brief covered constitution and legal services. He works alongside Rob Butler MP, under secretary of state responsible for prisons and probation, and Gareth Johnson, under secretary of state for courts and tribunals as well as legal aid and tackling illegal migration. Johnson, MP for Dartford, is a qualified solicitor and remains on the roll where he is listed as non-practising.
Lord Bellamy (Christopher Bellamy KC) remains ministerial spokesperson in the House of Lords. He was called to the bar at Middle Temple in 1968. Bellamy’s brief excludes legal aid, on which he led a government-commissioned independent review. The review is at the centre of a dispute between criminal defence solicitors and the government.
1 Reader's comment