New Shadow NI Secretary Appointed

Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Vernon Coaker has been removed from his post as part of a Labour Party reshuffle.

Mr Coaker will now take up the post of shadow Defence Secretary, replacing Jim Murphy who has been appointed as shadow Secretary of State for International Development.

The new shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is Ivan Lewis MP.

Mr Lewis represents his home constituency of Bury South, where he has lived all his life.

He was elected to Parliament in 1997 at the age of 30, but prior to becoming an MP was Chief Executive of two voluntary organisations – Contact Community Care Group and the Manchester Jewish Federation.

He was elected to Labour's Shadow Cabinet in October 2010 and served as shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

In October 2011 he was appointed as shadow Secretary of State for International Development. He will now take up the post as shadow NI Secretary.

The move is part of a ministerial realignment at the Labour Party that has been branded by some critics as a move to the left for party leader Ed Miliband.

Prominent Blairites Liam Byrne, the shadow Work and Pensions Secretary and Stephen Twigg, the shadow Education Secretary, have lost their jobs at the top of the party as a result of the reshuffle.

Alliance Chief Whip Stewart Dickson said: "I would like to acknowledge and pay tribute to the excellent work that Vernon has carried out during his time in Northern Ireland. He was genuinely interested in his brief and went the extra mile to get to know the issues and the people here.

"On a personal note, I would like to thank him for the support he gave me last year after my constituency office was burnt down during the flags protests.

"He was a staunch supporter of the power sharing institutions and encouraged all sides to respect the rule of law during recent trouble. He was a good friend of Northern Ireland. I look forward to working with his successor Ivan Lewis.

"I would also like to wish the outgoing Northern Ireland Office Minister of State Mike Penning all the best and welcome his successor Andrew Robathan."

(IT/CD)