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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has named Oliver Dowden as the country’s Deputy Prime Minister.
Dowden replaces Dominic Raab, who resigned earlier on Friday following a allegations of bullying staff during his time in government.
Raab, who also resigned as Justice Secretary, said in his resignation letter that he felt “duty bound to accept the outcome of the inquiry,” adding that it “dismissed all but two of the claims levelled against me.”
Dowden’s appointment as Deputy Prime Minister cements his reputation in government as Sunak’s right-hand man, after a stint in the Cabinet Office, where he was responsible for coordinating the government’s response to winter strikes.
Dowden was Culture, Media and Sport Secretary for 18 months in Boris Johnson’s government, during which he provided emergency funding for the arts during the COVID-19 pandemic and also banned Huawei from UK 5G networks.
Sunak also appointed lawmaker Alex Chalk as new Justice Secretary, a position previously held by Raab.