David Cameron has announced the latest batch of new Cabinet ministers as he puts the finishing touches to his second government.
The prime minister this morning promoted a number of Conservative MPs to key posts after the party's victory at last week's election.
John Whittingdale takes the helm at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, a department which some Whitehall-watchers had speculated could be scrapped or merged in a second Cameron government.
Whittingdale, the former chair of parliament's culture, media and sport select committee, has previously called for reform of the BBC license fee, describing it last year as "unsustainable" in the face of new technology.
Amber Rudd becomes energy secretary, succeeding the Liberal Democrat Ed Davey.
Rudd is a relative newcomer to parliament, having been first elected in 2010, but she has already served as a minister in the Department for Energy and Climate Change after a stint as parliamentary private secretary to chancellor George Osborne.
Whittingdale replaces Sajid Javid as culture secretary, with Javid moving to become business secretary. Javid – who, like Rudd, is part of the 2010 intake of Tory MPs – has already served as economic secretary and financial secretary at the Treasury. Prior to that, Javid cut his teeth as a banker for Chase Manhattan and Deutsche Bank.
Javid's finance background led a number of commentators to question whether he was the right man for the culture post. But he brushed aside that criticism in an interview with CSW's sister title The House magazine last year.
"There were a few people who said things like ‘what does this banker know about culture?’ At least I think they said banker,” he told the magazine. “But I’ve got a thick skin, and it was up to me to get into the job and show that I could do it and that I’m serious about bringing about the changes we all want."
Final announcements expected
Cameron is expected to make his final round of Cabinet appointments this afternoon, including the post which is arguably the most important to the civil service, that of minister for the Cabinet Office.
Francis Maude, who stood down as an MP last week, recently told CSW he was "not necessarily" at the end of his time in the MCO job. There has been speculation he may with the continue the post from the House of Lords, with Maude telling a Reform think tank event event that the role "doesn’t require a seat in the House of Commons".
Last night, Cameron confirmed that Iain Duncan Smith would stay on as work and pensions secretary. He joins chancellor George Osborne, home secretary Theresa May, education secretary Nicky Morgan, defence secretary Michael Fallon and foreign secretary Philip Hammond as Cabinet ministers to remain in post in Cameron's new majority government.
Michael Gove meanwhile moves to the post of justice secretary, with his predecessor Chris Grayling taking on the job of Commons leader, responsible for overseeing government business in the House.