28/06/2007

Woodward new NI Secretary of State

Shaun Woodward has been named as the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

He will replace Peter Hain, who has been announced as the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. Prior to his appointment as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Woodward was Parliamentray Under Secretary at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

He was elected as a Member of Parliament for the St Helens South constituency in 2001. Since then he has held the posts of Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

He was also a member of the Parliamentary Joint Commons and Lords Committee of Human Rights from 2001 to 2005, and was formerly a member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and European Scrutiny Select Committee.

Peter Hain had hoped to win the battle to become Deputy Labour leader, however he lost out to Harriet Harman.

Lord Ashdown confirmed last week that he had been offered the post, but he turned it down.

(JM)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

28 November 2024
Lidl Northern Ireland Opens Two New Stores
Lidl Northern Ireland has announced the reopening of its Stewartstown Road store in West Belfast and the opening of a new store in Carryduff. The Stewartstown Road store, which has undergone a major redevelopment, will reopen on December 5th. The new Carryduff store, Lidl’s 43rd in Northern Ireland, will open on December 12th.
11 February 2010
Unionist Blasts Woodward's 'Neutrality'
Labour's 'neutrality' towards the Union will bolster the Ulster Unionist-Tory joint ticket at the ballot box, a UUP Assemblyman has claimed. Tom Elliott (pictured) criticised Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward's "neutral broker" status during the Hillsborough negotiations, claiming it could jeopardise the UUP's support for the accord.
11 July 2022
DUP Leader Holds 'Constructive Discussions' With Shailesh Vara
DUP Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has held constructive discussions with the new Secretary of State Shailesh Vara. Speaking after the meeting, Sir Jeffrey said: "I had a constructive discussion with the new Secretary of State on Thursday evening where I urged him to focus on restoring stability to Northern Ireland by dealing with the Protocol.
19 July 2016
New Secretary Of State For NI Meets With Justice Minister
The new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, James Brokenshire, has met with Justice Minister Claire Sugden MLA.
15 July 2016
Call For New NI Secretary Of State To Start Work Immediately
The new Northern Ireland Secretary of State has been called to start work immediately and to recognise that the majority of people living in NI voted to remain in the European Union (EU). Alliance Leader David Ford made the call after the new UK Prime Minister Theresa May selected James Brokenshire for the role.