Shailesh Vara ‘huge privilege’ to be appointed as Northern Ireland Secretary

The former NIO minister was announced amid chaos at Downing Street as the number of resignations stacked up in protest at Boris Johnson’s government.

Mr Johnson is set to remain as Prime Minister until a successor is in place, expected to be by the time of the Conservative Party conference in October.

This is despite critics suggesting he should not be allowed to stay in office until the autumn.

Mr Vara said it was a “huge privilege to return to the Northern Ireland Office as Secretary of State”.

“Having served previously in the department I recognise the immense contribution of Northern Ireland, and its people, to the UK and I look forward to representing those interests at the Cabinet table,” he said.

Mr Lewis announced his resignation early on Thursday, tweeting a copy of his resignation letter in which he told the Prime Minister that he had “given you, and those around you, the benefit of the doubt”.

“We are, however, now past the point of no return.

“I cannot sacrifice my personal integrity to defend things as they stand now. It is clear that our Party, parliamentary colleagues, volunteers and the whole country, deserve better,” he said.

NIO minister Conor Burns indicated he will remain in post, tweeting that he will lead for the government at a meeting of the British-Irish Council.

“It is vital at this time that the job @NIOgov continues to be done.

“I am committed to continuing to serve the wonderful people of Northern Ireland to the best of my ability at this tough time,” he said.

Mr Lewis was blasted by Sinn Fein Stormont leader Michelle O’Neill as having “shamefully placated the DUP”.

She claimed he “abandoned any pretence of acting with the ‘rigorous impartiality’ required of him under the Good Friday Agreement”.

“He has shamefully placated the DUP by giving them political cover in denying the electorate the democratic representation they are entitled to,” she said.

The Stormont Assembly remains collapsed amid a row over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The DUP is refusing to nominate ministers to the executive or a speaker to allow the Assembly to function until the UK government takes action on the post-Brexit arrangements.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said Mr Johnson has “debased the office he holds”.

“He has fundamentally and indelibly damaged public confidence in politics and public life and his death grip on power has prolonged a period of government that will be characterised by law-breaking, scandal and sleaze.

“He should now leave government immediately,” he said

Ms O’Neill was also critical of Mr Lewis over his proposed bill for dealing with Northern Ireland’s troubled past.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill offers an effective amnesty for Troubles crimes for those who co-operate with an information body.

She added: “He has undermined the Good Friday Agreement and political stability, and his actions gave us a daily reminder why those with no mandate or votes here will only ever act in their own political interests, and not ours.

“The political stability of the North cannot be a hostage to the Tory-in fighting, Westminster chaos and continued DUP disruption.”

Alliance MP Stephen Farry described a “completely crazy situation” and said Mr Johnson was a “narcissistic self-entitled fool”.

“The fact it even got to this point is damning in itself,” he said.

Meanwhile, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said an incoming leader of the Conservative Party will “face very significant challenges both at home and abroad”.

“I recognise the efforts made by the outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his team to replace the Northern Ireland Protocol with arrangements which can command the support of unionists as well as nationalists,” he said.

“It is no secret that we believed that Boris Johnson had a duty to get rid of the Irish Sea border having disastrously gone against our advice and signed a Withdrawal Agreement containing the protocol. After two years of failed negotiations, the efforts to remove the protocol must continue.

“Stable devolved government can only be built on a solid foundation. With zero unionist support in the Assembly, the NI Protocol has been undermining the foundations rather than underpinning them.

“The leadership of the Conservative and Unionist Party is a matter for the MPs and members of that Party. They should, however, recognise that no unionist MLAs or MPs support the protocol. Fully functioning devolved government in Stormont and the protocol cannot co-exist.”