Cabinet reshuffle: Greg Hands replaces Zahawi as Conservative Party chairman as Sunak’s first reshuffle begins
Greg Hands has replaced Nadhim Zahawi as Conservative Party chairman as Rishi Sunak begins the first reshuffle of his cabinet.
Former trade policy minister Mr Hands, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, takes over the role that will involve leading the Tories through the next election, which they are currently set to lose to Labour.
His appointment comes just over a week after former chair Mr Zahawi was sacked over the handling of his tax affairs.
Mr Hands tweeted a photo of him and Rishi Sunak, both beaming, as he said he was “excited” and it was “an honour” to be asked to be chairman.
“The work starts straight away,” he added.
Asked if his taxes are in order as he arrived at Conservative headquarters after getting the job, he said: “They certainly are.”
Number 10 also confirmed business, energy and industrial strategy secretary Grant Shapps will be made energy security and net zero secretary in a newly created department.
Mr Shapps said he was “delighted” to become the first head of the new department and will focus on “securing our long-term energy supply, bringing down bills and thereby helping to halve inflation”.
Former Tory leadership contender Kemi Badenoch is to be moved from international trade secretary to business and trade secretary, taking over part of the job Mr Shapps leaves vacant and maintaining her previous role.
She will remain president of the board of trade and minister for women and equalities.
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan is the new Secretary for Science, Innovation and Technology, another newly formed department.
And housing minister Lucy Frazer is now Culture, Media and Sport Secretary – with technology taken away from the role that Ms Donelan had.
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Shapps’ Great British Rail Sale
Who is Greg Hands?
Mr Hands is well-liked by fellow Tories and has been an MP since 2005, first in Hammersmith and Fulham, then Chelsea and Fulham since its creation in 2010.
Seen as a steady pair of hands, he has remained as a minister for the most part of the past eight years after first serving in David Cameron’s cabinet as chief secretary to the Treasury.
A staunch remainer, he was demoted by Theresa May to a junior minister at the Department for International Trade then was also made Minister for London.
He resigned in 2018 over his opposition to Heathrow’s third runway but Boris Johnson returned him to trade policy minister before promoting him to business, energy and clean growth minister.
Liz Truss made him trade policy minister days before she stepped down and Mr Sunak kept him on.
The New York and UK state-school-educated politician joined the Conservative Party as a student at Cambridge before spending eight years as a banker in London and New York.
A polyglot who speaks five European languages, Mr Hands’ gained his campaigning experience fairly early on in his political career when he had to fight for the newly formed Chelsea and Fulham seat after his constituency was split in two.
As a Tory councillor in Hammersmith and Fulham before becoming an MP, he built up a formidable reputation as a local campaigner, with an impressive knowledge for knowing local people’s names and issues they stood for, Conservative Home reported in 2014.
As party chairman, he will be in charge of helping the Tories fight the next election, which at the moment they are predicted to lose to Labour.
He also served as a whip then deputy chief whip under Mr Cameron so has experience in coordinating his fellow MPs – an essential to fight the next election.
Who is Grant Shapps?
New energy security minister Mr Shapps is seen as a safe pair of hands and a popular MP within the Conservative Party, as well as a smooth media operator.
Growing his public profile over the past few years, he has become known for his slick – some think cringeworthy – public service videos such as the “Great British Rail Sale” promoting reduced train fares.
But it was 2015 when he really earnt his stripes in Westminster as party co-chairman after he helped pull off a narrow Conservative victory despite a predicted hung parliament.
He has been the MP for Welwyn Hatfield since 2005, taking the seat off Labour after 15 years of failed attempts to become a councillor and an MP in Manchester and various London constituencies.
Mr Shapps served as a minister and co-chair under Mr Cameron, while Boris Johnson made him transport secretary and he became the shortest-serving home secretary ever last year, with just six days in the job under Liz Truss before Rishi Sunak made him business secretary.
His rise in politics has not been without controversy, including accusations of ignoring bullying allegations while co-chair that are said to have led to a young party member taking his own life.
In 2015, he admitted to having had a second job while being an MP and using pseudonyms – Michael Green, Corinne Stockheath and Sebastian Fox – for business after previously denying both.
Before becoming an MP he was a photocopier sales representative and founded his own design and print business then a web publishing business. Google blacklisted 19 of his business websites for violating copyright rules in 2012.
Mr Shapps’ latest mishap involved his office posting a picture of him with Mr Johnson photoshopped out, which he laughingly told Sky News this Sunday was a “complete screw-up”.
Who is Kemi Badenoch?
The new business and trade secretary has only been the MP for Saffron Walden since 2017 but her background as a law graduate, software engineer and in banking should have prepared her well for the new role.
A committed Brexiteer, Ms Badenoch was previously exchequer secretary to the Treasury and keeps her job as equalities minister.
She stood to replace Mr Johnson in the summer and was popular among the Tory membership, promising to “tell the truth” and advocating “strong but limited government”.
But she was eliminated in the fourth round of voting, some believed it was due to her strong stance on trans issues after her team taped “men” and “ladies” signs to the doors of gender-neutral loos.
World
Bodies of four Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas – as parading of coffins labelled ‘inhumane’
The bodies of an Israeli mother and her two children have been handed over by Hamas – as the process was labelled “inhumane” by the United Nations human rights chief.
Shiri Bibas, four-year-old Ariel, and nine-month-old Kfir were kidnapped from a kibbutz during the militant group’s October 2023 attack.
The children’s father, Yarden Bibas, was released on 1 February as part of the ceasefire deal between Hamas and Israel.
Live updates – Hamas attacks Netanyahu as it releases bodies
Shiri Bibas was filmed cradling Ariel and Kfir as they were kidnapped by Hamas
The body of journalist and peace activist Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted, was also handed over.
Hamas has said they were all killed in Israeli airstrikes near the start of the war. The group has never provided evidence to back this up, while Israel has not confirmed the claims.
The Bibas family has become a powerful symbol of the 251 Israelis kidnapped on 7 October – not least because Kfir was the youngest taken.
The bodies were handed to the Red Cross in the Gaza city of Khan Younis on Thursday morning.
Oded Lifshitz, 84, was also taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Pic: Bring Them Home Now
Four black coffins were displayed on a stage before being put into vehicles and driven towards Israel as masked members of Hamas and other factions looked on.
United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk, called the parading of the four bodies “cruel” and “inhumane” in a statement on Thursday.
He said: “Under international law, any handover of the remains of deceased must comply with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, ensuring respect for the dignity of the deceased and their families.”
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‘The life he thought he was coming back to is gone’
Sky’s international correspondent, Diana Magnay, added that Hamas used the handover as a “propaganda opportunity” and had tried to send the message: “This was caused by you, you should take responsibility for it.”
“They had missiles on the stage where the four coffins were, saying they were killed by US bombs,” Magnay said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was also depicted as a vampire in an image behind the dead hostages.
Sombre moment for Israelis – as Hamas uses opportunity for propaganda
The return of the bodies of four Israeli hostages is a “sombre moment” for everybody in Israel and Jews across the world, our international correspondent Diana Magnay says.
She says the two young boys, Ariel and Kfir, “really became a symbol of the tremendous suffering 7 October caused”.
“Now, to have them returned back in this way is tragic.”
Referring to the scenes of coffins being transferred to the Red Cross, Magnay says Hamas has chosen to use this “as a propaganda opportunity”.
“They have missiles on the stage where the four coffins were, saying they were killed by US bombs,” she explains.
She says Hamas’s main message is “this was caused by you, you should take responsibility for it”.
She adds that 7 October was caused by Hamas, and has brought “untold suffering to both Israel and Palestinians”.
Israel’s heart ‘in tatters’
At the family’s request, the Israeli military held a small funeral before the bodies were taken to a Tel Aviv laboratory for DNA tests to verify their identity.
Mr Netanyahu said it would be “a very difficult day for the state of Israel”, while President Isaac Herzog said “the hearts of an entire nation lie in tatters” and asked for “forgiveness for not protecting you”.
The coffins were displayed on a stage. Pic: Reuters
The Israeli military later received the four bodies. Pic: IDF
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) posted on X saying it could confirm that Mr Lifshitz was “murdered… in captivity by Islamic Jihad”.
It added: “We send our deepest condolences to his wife, Yocheved, and to the rest of his family.”
Israel previously said it was extremely concerned about the condition of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir but had never confirmed their deaths.
All four of the Israelis were abducted at Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of a number of communities overrun by Hamas on the day of the surprise attack.
Video showed Shiri Bibas appearing terrified as she cradled her boys while they were taken into Gaza.
The boys’ father Yarden Bibas was released earlier this month. Pic: Reuters
The family said this week their “journey is not over” until they receive confirmation of what happened to Shiri and the boys.
Meanwhile, six living hostages, the final due to be freed under the first phase of the Gaza truce deal, will also be released on Saturday, according to Hamas.
Israelis who survived being held prisoner in Gaza have been released in small groups since the first six-week phase began last month.
Three more – Alexander Troufanov, Sagui Dekel Chen and Iair Horn – were freed last weekend. The swap included 369 Palestinians, the most released so far.
The deal has provided a vital pause in the fighting that’s devastated Gaza and left tens of thousands dead.
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Israeli hostage hugs wife
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Israel said negotiations on the second phase of the deal and an extension to the ceasefire would start this week.
Foreign minister Gideon Saar said it would involve the remaining hostages being exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners.
At least 1,200 people were killed in the attack that started the war.
Since then, the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks. Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
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