Steve Barclay named new Defra secretary

Former health secretary Steve Barclay has been appointed secretary of state for environment, food and rural affairs, prime minister Rishi Sunak’s office said on Monday, as part of a reshuffle of his top team.

He replaces Therese Coffey who resigned on Monday as Defra secretary.

“I consider it is now the right time to step back from government,” Coffey said in a letter to Sunak which was published by his office.

Coffey has held several ministerial jobs including health secretaryr and work and pensions secretary, and also served as deputy prime minister under Sunak’s predecessor Liz Truss.

In a letter responding to Coffey, Sunak thanked her for “dedicated service”.

“You have driven work across government to support the rural economy and taken measures to protect food production here at home,” Sunak said.

Sunak reshuffled his ministerial team on Monday, including bringing back former leader David Cameron as foreign secretary and firing home secretary Suella Braverman in a bid to win over moderate voters.

Here is the latest list of those who attend cabinet meetings:

POSITION	MINISTER
Foreign Secretary	David Cameron	Replaces James Cleverly
Home Secretary	James Cleverly	Replaces Suella Braverman
Conservative Party Chairman and minister without portfolio	Richard Holden	Replaces Greg Hands
Chief Secretary to the Treasury	Laura Trott	Replaces John Glen
Environment Secretary	Steve Barclay	Replaces Therese Coffey
Health Secretary	Victoria Atkins	Replaces Steve Barclay
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office	John Glen	Replaces Jeremy Quin
Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)	Esther McVey	New Position
Attorney General	Victoria Prentis	No Change
Business and Trade Secretary	Kemi Badenoch	No Change
Chancellor of the Exchequer	Jeremy Hunt	No Change
Defence Secretary	Grant Shapps	No Change
Deputy Prime Minister	Oliver Dowden	No Change
Culture, Media and Sport Secretary	Lucy Frazer	No Change
Education Secretary	Gillian Keegan	No Change
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary	Claire Coutinho	No Change
Justice Secretary	Alex Chalk	No Change
Leader of the House of Commons	Penny Mordaunt	No Change
Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary	Michael Gove	No Change
Minister for Development	Andrew Mitchell	No Change
Minister for Equalities	Kemi Badenoch	No Change
Minister for Immigration	Robert Jenrick	No Change
Minister for Security	Tom Tugendhat	No Change
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs	Johnny Mercer	No Change
Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary	Michelle Donelan	No Change
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland	Chris Heaton-Harris	No Change
Secretary of State for Scotland	Alister Jack	No Change
Secretary of State for Wales	David Davies	No Change
Transport Secretary	Mark Harper	No Change
Work and Pensions Secretary	Mel Stride	No Change

(Reuters)

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