New DEFRA ministers declared

THE PRIME Minister’s re-shuffle of junior ministerial positions extended to DEFRA on Mon (May 9) as Alun Michael and Lord Whitty left the department.

Alun Michael has moved to the Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry where he has been promoted to a Minister of State. Lord Whitty has now retired from politics. 

The new members to the department will be South Dorset MP Jim Knight and the peer Lord Bach. 

But it is not yet known which roles each individual will assume.

Mr Knight is a former local councillor and who first contested the South Dorset seat at the 1997 general election.

But he had to wait until the 2001 general election before winning the seat.

From 2001 – 2003 he served on the Defence Select Committee after which he moved to the Department of Health where he served as Principal Private Secretary to Rosie Winterton before being promoted to team PPS in 2004. 

Amongst his political interests he lists: foreign policy; international development; families; arts and sport. 

Mr Knight is married with two children.

Lord Bach who will join the department from the Ministry of Defence where he served as minister for defence procurement.

After graduating form New College, Oxford in 1968 where he completed a BA in English he began a career in law before being called to the Bar in 1972.

From 1976-87 he served as a Leicester City Councillor before moving to the Labour Party. In 1998 he was awarded a peerage.

From 2000 Lord Bach served in the Lord Chancellor’s department before moving to the Ministry of Defence in 2001 where he has acted as the government’s spokesman on defence issues in the Lords.

His political interests include: crime and criminal justice; local government; USA affairs and sport.

Lord Bach re-married in 1984 and has three children.