Rishi Sunak names Oliver Dowden as new Deputy Prime Minister

Resignation of Dominic Raab forces mini-cabinet reshuffle

Oliver Dowden is Britain's new Deputy Prime Minister, replacing Dominic Raab. PA

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has selected Oliver Dowden as the UK's new Deputy Prime Minister following the resignation of Dominic Raab.

Mr Raab was forced to step down after a report found that he had bullied civil servants on two occasions while he was justice secretary and foreign secretary.

Mr Dowden is currently Cabinet Office Minister in Mr Sunak's government. He was previously chairman of the Conservative Party but resigned from that post in June after two crushing by-election defeats.

Alex Chalk has been appointed Justice Secretary, Downing Street also announced.

Mr Chalk, who was elected in 2015 to represent Cheltenham, is no stranger to legal matters.

A trained barrister, he is a former solicitor general for England and Wales and has been a prisons and probations minister.

He specialised in counter-terrorism, homicide and serious fraud cases before entering politics.

The swift appointment of Mr Chalk makes him the 11th justice secretary since the Conservatives took power in 2010.

The pair have long been close to Mr Sunak and it was little surprise when both got jobs in the new administration following the short-lived tenure of Liz Truss.

Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed, greeting his new counterpart, said the Tories had “destroyed the justice system”.

“Real change can only come with a Labour government,” he added.

No 10 said Chloe Smith would cover as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology while Michelle Donelan is on maternity leave.

It is a return to the frontbench for the Norwich North MP, who was work and pensions secretary during the brief tenure of Liz Truss.