Unpacking the Cabinet Who’s where after Whitehall revamp

The Prime Minister’s shake-up of his top team went further than some were expecting, with changes to a number of Cabinet roles.

Grant Shapps, Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary

Mr Shapps’s role will now focus entirely on energy security and net zero. He previously headed the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Michelle Donelan, Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary

Ms Donelan, the former culture secretary, takes on the newly created Cabinet post. The department is part of Mr Sunak’s ambition to make Britain a worldbeater in science and innovation.

Kemi Badenoch, Business and Trade Secretary

Ms Badenoch, who is well-liked among the Tory grassroots, becomes the new Business and Trade Secretary. Previously at the Department for International Trade, she remains President of the Board of Trade and the minister for women and equalities. The new role gives more power to Ms Badenoch.

Lucy Frazer, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary

Ms Frazer takes over at the department that previously included ‘digital’ in its title – a further sign of shifting responsibilities. She has been promoted from her previous post as housing minister, and is also a former solicitor general.

Greg Hands, Tory Party chairman

Mr Hands was previously a minister at the now-merged Department for International Trade. He has been a prominent supporter of Mr Sunak and played an active role in his leadership campaigns. Mr Hands said yesterday: “I am excited to be asked by Rishi Sunak to be Chairman of the Conservatives. The work starts right away.”

Lee Anderson, Tory Party deputy chairman

A former miner and Labour councillor, the MP for Ashfield has been installed as Mr Hands’s deputy. He jumped ship to the Tories a year before winning his seat at the 2019 general election and has said he believes a culture of entitlement, rather than poverty, is holding Britain back.

George Freeman, science minister

He will serve under Ms Donelan in her new department. His role will be broadly similar to his previous post at the Department for Business as science, research and innovation minister.

Nus Ghani, trade minister

Ms Ghani confirmed her appointment before it was formally announced by No10. “Much to do and looking forward to cracking on with Secretary of State Kemi Badenoch,” she tweeted. Previously, she was a minister at the BEIS.

Dominic Raab, Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary

Mr Raab remains in post while an investigation continues into eight formal complaints about his behaviour. Mr Sunak says he will not pre-judge the findings of the inquiry into bullying claims. Mr Raab said last year he would “rebut and refute” all the allegations against him, which he has firmly denied.