Brandon Lewis appointed new NI Secretary of State

Mr Lewis replaces Julian Smith, who was surprisingly sacked by Boris Johnson on Thursday morning.

He is MP for Great Yarmouth and was previously Minister of State at the Home Office.

Mr Lewis was unveiled in the role on Thursday afternoon.

He tweeted: “I am honoured to have been appointed Secretary of State for Northern Ireland by the Prime Minister. This is an exciting time for Northern Ireland & I follow fantastic colleagues as predecessors, whose work I hope we can continue to build on.”