Chris Heaton-Harris appointed new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Ahead of any official confirmation from Downing Street, Mr Burns tweeted news of the development, describing Mr Heaton-Harris as “a good man”.

Mr Burns said: “Congratulations @chhcalling on his appointment as SoS for Northern Ireland.

“Spent some of today making sure prep was in hand for @NIOgov Oral questions tomorrow morning.

“Chris is a good man and a friend. Look forward to supporting him in the chamber.”

Mr Heaton-Harris is the MP for Daventy.

He replaces Shailesh Vara who was sacked earlier on Tuesday.

Mr Vara tweeted: “Great privilege and honour to serve as Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland Office and work with some excellent people.

“My best wishes to the new PM and I look forward to supporting the government from the backbenches”.

Mr Vara, a supporter of new Prime Minister Liz Truss’s rival Rishi Sunak in the Tory leadership contest, was not expected to retain his position.