Defra saw the return of two MPs who had previously served in the department, following Rishi Sunak’s appointment to prime minister in October.
Thérèse Coffey has been made secretary of state, replacing Ranil Jayawardena, who resigned in October after seven weeks in the post. Dr Coffey had been a junior minister at Defra between 2016 and 2019. Mr Jayawardena said he had ‘stood aside’ knowing Mr Sunak wanted a new team in government.
Rebecca Pow returns as parliamentary under-secretary of state, a role she had for almost three years before resigning in July having lost confidence in Boris Johnson’s leadership. She replaces Stephen Mann, who was in the post for 39 days before being appointed a government whip.
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