Tag: reshuffle

Categories
-Top News UK News

Boris hits reshuffle button

The shake-up of the ministerial team follows the appointment of Stephen Barclay as the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, reports Asian Lite News

Embattled British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, under pressure to resign over parties in Downing Street during lockdown, on Tuesday reshuffled his Cabinet and appointed Jacob Rees-Mogg as the minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency.

Rees-Mogg, 52, currently leader of the House of Commons, will be based in the Cabinet Office.

Mark Spencer, the current Chief Whip, will replace Rees Mogg as the Leader of Commons.

Rees-Mogg, a prominent Leave campaigner during the 2016 EU referendum, will be a full member of the Cabinet, having previously only attended it. Spencer, who was previously chief whip, will continue to attend.

Chris Heaton-Harris has become the new Chief Whip, in charge of disciplining Conservative MPs.

Stuart Andrew, former Deputy Chief Whip, will be the minister for housing.

Andrew, the MP for Pudsey since 2010, previously held the position of Treasurer of HM Household and was a Deputy Chief Whip in the House of Commons.

The shake-up of the ministerial team follows the appointment of Stephen Barclay as the Prime Minister’s chief of staff.

It also comes as Johnson, 57, seeks to relaunch his administration following the ‘Partygate’ row. He is facing intense pressure to step down from the Opposition and Conservative MPs.

The Prime Minister has already changed many of his advisers and other staff of 10 Downing Street, as he attempts to ward off calls from the Opposition and some of his own MPs, to resign.

At the sub-cabinet level, Stuart Andrew has moved from being deputy chief whip to housing minister.

In her report on gatherings that took place in 10 Downing Street during lockdowns, published last week, senior civil servant Sue Gray criticised “failures of leadership and judgement”.

In response, Johnson has promised a “change” in culture and to consult Conservative MPs more on setting policy.

Meanwhile, Johnson’s office said that the prime minister has no intention of apologising after falsely claiming that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had failed to prosecute serial sex offender Jimmy Savile when he was director of public prosecutions.

The reshuffle follows several backbench Tory MPs criticising his leadership.

If 54 MPs write letters to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative Party’s 1922 Committee, this will prompt a vote of no-confidence in the prime minister.

If he lost this, there would be a full leadership contest, in which Johnson could not run.

At the last Cabinet reshuffle in September last year, Nadine Dorries became culture secretary and Liz Truss became foreign secretary, while Dominic Raab was moved from the Foreign Office to become the deputy prime minister.

Last week, Prime Minister Johnson’s five aides, including longstanding policy chief Munira Mirza, chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, principal private secretary Martin Reynolds and communications director Jack Doyle, resigned from their posts within hours of each other.

They stepped down after a damning investigation revealed that multiple parties took place at Downing Street while the rest of the United Kingdom was living under strict Covid-19 lockdown rules.

Officers from the Met Police are investigating a total of 12 Downing Street parties.

It is believed that as many as six of those could have been attended by the Prime Minister.

ALSO READ-Boris brings in new staffers to move past ‘partygate’ scandal

Categories
-Top News UK News

Johnson Reshuffles His Top Team

With a major cabinet reshuffle, which saw ruthless demotions and unexpected promotions to few ministers, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is laying groundworks for the next general election, reports Asian Lite Newsdesk

In a major reshuffle, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has appointed his party’s first female foreign secretary and replaced and promoted few other ministers with an aim to secure a second term in power.

Elizabeth Truss has been appointed as the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary as Prime Minister Boris Johnson made a cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, Downing Street said.

“The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP @trussliz has been appointed Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs @FCDOGovUK. She remains as Minister for Women and Equalities @GEOgovuk,” Downing Street tweeted.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan was promoted to replace Truss as international trade secretary in the reshuffle at the top of Johnson’s government.

Meanwhile, foreign secretary Dominic Raab has been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice.

Johnson, who is promising to “build back better” from the pandemic, fired Gavin Williamson as education secretary and Robert Buckland as justice secretary. Meanwhile, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi was promoted to education secretary.

Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-on-Avon.

Junior Health minister Nadine Dorries, a best-selling novelist who has never sat at the cabinet table before, has replaced Oliver Dowden as culture secretary. Dowden was given the role of minister without portfolio at the Cabinet Office, and Conservative Party co-chair.

Meanwhile, the new Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Michael Gove, who replaced Robert Jenrick, will get the added responsibility of the government’s “levelling up” agenda – spreading wealth and opportunity around the country – while continuing to handle demands for another Scottish independence referendum, the BBC reported.

The prime minister is now expected to rejig his junior and middle-ranking ministers in a process which could take days, it was reported.

Following the reshuffle, the prime minister tweeted that his new cabinet would “work tirelessly to unite and level up the whole country”. “We will build back better from the pandemic and deliver on your priorities,” he said. “Now let’s get on with the job.”

Truss, who is the Tory party’s first female foreign secretary, and only the second woman to hold the role, following Labour’s Margaret Becket, said she was delighted by the appointment and would use the role to “promote a positive, outward vision of global Britain”, the BBC reported.

Dominic Raab was widely criticised for his handling of the UK withdrawal from Afghanistan, CNN reported.

It further reported that the former foreign secretary was on holiday in Greece as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. He faced demands for his resignation after it emerged that not long before the fall of Kabul, he asked a deputy to handle an urgent call with the Afghan foreign minister regarding the evacuation of interpreters who had worked with British armed forces. The call never happened.

Raab said he was not considering his position, but he did admit that “with the benefit of hindsight” he would not have gone on holiday as the Taliban advanced on Kabul, CNN reported.

Afghanistan plunged into crisis last month after Kabul fell to the Taliban and the democratically elected government of former president Ashraf Ghani collapsed. The seizure of power has forced thousands of Afghans to flee for fear of reprisals from the outfit.

ALSO READ-Johnson appoints 10 new trade envoys to boost business

READ MORE-UK envoy meets CM Thackeray, visits Ganesha idol workshop

Categories
-Top News Defence

Major reshuffle in Indian Military’s top hierarchy

Accordingly, Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh, assumed charge as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff on Tuesday, taking over from Vice Admiral M.S. Pawar, who superannuated on May 31…reports Asian Lite News.

The armed forces saw a series of changes in the top hierarchy in the last two days, including new joinings in the posts of Commander-in-Chief of Andaman and Nicobar Command, Eastern Army Commander, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff and Director General of Assam Rifles.

The major reshuffle in the Indian military took place after several key posts fell vacant.

Accordingly, Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh, assumed charge as the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff on Tuesday, taking over from Vice Admiral M.S. Pawar, who superannuated on May 31.

Ravneet Singh was commissioned into the Indian Navy on July 1, 1983 and he specialised in aviation. The Flag Officer is a qualified flying instructor with Master Green instrument rating. He has flown HT-2, Kiran HJT 16, TS 11 Iskra, Hunter, Harrier Gr 3, Jet Provost, Chetak, Gazelle, Hawk and Mig 29 KUB aircraft during his illustrious career, the Navy said.

He has commanded various frontline ships and Naval Air Squadrons, including INS Himgiri, INS Ranvijay, INS Ranvir, INAS 551B, INAS 300 as well as the premier Air Base INS Hansa. Additionally, he was also appointed Indian Defence Advisor to Kenya, Tanzania and Seychelles from 2005 to 2008.

On promotion to the Flag rank, he has held key assignments of Assistant Controller Carrier Project and Assistant Controller Warship Production and Acquisition at IHQ MoD(N), Flag Officer, Goa area and Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet at Mumbai.

In the rank of Vice Admiral, the officer has tenanted the appointments of Chief of Staff at the Headquarters of Western Naval Command, Mumbai, Director General Project Seabird and Chief of Personnel at IHQ MoD.

Meanwhile, the Assam Rilfes got a new chief as Lieutenant General Pradeep Chandran Nair took over as its Director General.

Pradeep Chandran Nair has rich experience of Assam Rifles and the Northeast, having earlier been an Inspector General and a Company Commander in Assam Rifles, besides having commanded Assam Rifles battalions as a Brigade Commander.

The General Officer was commissioned into the Sikh Regiment in 1985. He has very vast combat experience having commanded his battalion in the Siachen Glacier and Assam.

He had earlier served as Inspector General of Assam Rifles in Nagaland. Nair has been an instructor in Infantry School, Mhow, Indian Military Training Team, Bhutan, and a Directing Staff at the prominent Defence Services Staff College.

He has served in the army headquarters as a Colonel, Major General and Lieutenant General. He has also served as Brigadier General Staff in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa and in the Defence Intelligence Agency.

In other significant postings in the Indian Navy, Vice Admiral Dinesh Tripathi took over as Chief of Personnel, Vice Admiral Sandeep Naithani assumed charge as Chief of Material, and Vice Admiral Kiran Deshmukh was appointed Controller Warship Production and Acquisition.

Lt Gen Manoj Pande took over the critical Eastern Command of the Indian Army based in Kolkata, while Lt Gen Ajai Singh took charge as the Commander in Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command.

The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is crucial for the military’s planning as its the only tri-service of the country and the model for synergy based on which theaterisation of the country’s Army, Navy and Air Force capabilities is being planned.

Manoj Pande had commanded an Engineer Regiment along Line of Control during Operation PARAKRAM in Jammu and Kashmir, an Engineer Brigade in Western Sector, Infantry Brigade along Line of Control in J&K, Mountain Division in High Altitude Area of Western Ladakh and a Corps in Northeast.

He has varied experience in staff appointments which include the Military Secretary and Militay Operations Branches at army headquarters, Operations Branch in a Brigade headquarters in the Northeast and headquarters of the Eastern Command at Kolkata.

Lt Gen Ajai Singh, who heads the Andaman and Nicobar Command now, is an armoured corps officer and a fifth generation army officer. He was commissioned in December 1983 into 81 Armoured Regiment, a regiment raised by his late father.

He has also undertaken volunteer tenures for counter-insurgency operations in the Kashmir Valley and in Northeast, where he was posted at a Mountain Division on the border.

As a Major with over 16 years of service, the General had also volunteered for a tenure on the Siachen Glacier and was posted to a Battalion of the Maratha Light Infantry, with whom he commanded a Rifle Company in Operations VIJAY (Kargil) and MEGHDOOT (Siachen Glacier) and received the Army Chief’s commendation for gallantry.

The General has also held sensitive posts at the army headquarters as the Additional DG at the Military Operations Directorate, and has been the Director General (DG) of Financial Planning and also the Director General of Military Training.

ALSO READ-LoC truce led to sense of peace: Army chief

READ MORE-Pulwama martyr’s wife joins Indian Army