Jeremy Corbyn announces more appointments amid Labour party frontbench reshuffle
Jeremy Corbyn announced a string of appointments today amid a reshuffle of his Labour party's frontbench.
The opposition leader is trying to strengthen his grip on the party after winning last month's Labour leadership contest by a large majority.
Diane Abbott was appointed shadow home secretary and Shami Chakrabarti will take the role of shadow attorney general.
Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) committee member Jonathan Reynolds was appointed shadow City minister, as City A.M. previously reported. Clive Lewis was given the position of shadow business secretary.
Sarah Champion is going to be shadow women and equalities minister, while Jo Stevens is taking the post of secretary of state for Wales and Nia Griffith will be shadow defence secretary.
Corbyn kicked off proceedings by appointing a key Gordon Brown ally, MP Nick Brown, as chief whip. Brown replaces Rosie Winterton who reports suggest had been critical of Corbyn's leadership.
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"I would like to pay tribute to Rosie Winterton for her six years’ exceptional service as chief whip. She has played an outstanding role in her support for me as leader and for the Labour Party as a whole," Corbyn said.
Some of the posts had remained unfilled since a wave of shadow cabinet resignations after Brexit vote in June, meaning some MPs had multiple portfolios.
I welcome Nick Brown MP's agreement to serve as Chief Whip and I would like to thank Rosie Winterton for her six years’ exceptional service pic.twitter.com/V3JET0Jj79
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) October 6, 2016