Scott Mann has been appointed parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), following Steve Double’s departure from the role.
Mann was elected to the position yesterday (September 20). He was previously Government Whip (Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury) from January 22, 2021 to September 20, 2022.
Former minister, Double, departed from the role after he said that new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, “no longer has a place” for him in her government.
In a statement he made on Facebook, Double said that it had been a huge honour for him to serve in Boris Johnson’s government for the past three years.
Double said that recent times had been some of the most challenging in political history, but that “throughout I remained a diligent and loyal member of the government”.
Speaking on Truss, Double said: “I accept that she needs to build her own team to take us through the huge challenges of the coming months and years.”
“I hoped I could contribute to this as a part of government, but sadly it is not to be.”
“I wish Liz Truss and her new government nothing but goodwill. For the sake of our country, we need her to succeed, and I will be doing all I can to help the government from the backbenches,” he said.
