SHAILESH Vara has said it is a "huge privilege" to be appointed as Northern Ireland Secretary of State after Brandon Lewis resigned.
The former Northern Ireland Office (NIO) minister was yesterday appointed by outgoing prime minister Boris Johnson, who intends to stay in post until a successor is in place.
Mr Vara said it was a "huge privilege to return to the Northern Ireland Office as Secretary of State".
"Having served previously in the department I recognise the immense contribution of Northern Ireland, and its people, to the UK and I look forward to representing those interests at the Cabinet table," he said.
The appointment came as Tory MPs pushed Mr Johnson to resign following a series of scandals, including a fine for breaking his own lockdown laws and his handling of sexual misconduct allegations against former Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher.
Mr Lewis had initially voiced his support for Mr Johnson.
Speaking at an integrated school in Belfast on Wednesday morning, Mr Lewis insisted that the prime minister was determined to "fix the issues surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol" in order to get "Stormont up and running".
But just hours later, Mr Lewis and several cabinet colleagues called on Mr Johnson to resign.
Mr Lewis officially resigned yesterday morning, saying the government was now "past the point of no return".
"In recent weeks and months, we (the Conservative Party) have been relentlessly on the defensive, consumed by introspection and in-fighting," he wrote in his resignation letter.
He added: "A decent and responsible government relies on honesty, integrity and mutual respect - it is a matter of profound personal regret for me that I must leave government as I no longer believe those values are being upheld."
Such was the confusion amid a spate of resignations, Belfast-born NIO minister Conor Burns was the lead British government representative at a meeting of the British-Irish Council in Guernsey yesterday.
He said he will remain in his post.
"It is vital at this time that the job @NIOgov continues to be done," Mr Burns tweeted.
"I am committed to continuing to serve the wonderful people of Northern Ireland to the best of my ability at this tough time."
Read more: What does the secretary of state for Northern Ireland do?
