Chris Bryant joins Labour frontbench as reshuffle continues

The chairman of Parliament's standards watchdog, Sir Chris Bryant, has joined Labour's frontbench, as the party reshuffles its top team.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has appointed Sir Chris as shadow minister for creative industries and digital.

To take up the role Sir Chris has resigned as chair of the Commons Standards Committee, which scrutinises the behaviour of MPs.

The Labour reshuffle started on Monday as MPs returned from a summer break.

Angela Rayner was appointed shadow levelling up secretary, but the refresh did not see changes to the most senior shadow cabinet ranks, including shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves and shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper.

There have been new faces in middle-ranking roles though, with the Labour leader saying he was putting his "strongest possible players on the pitch" ahead of the next general election, expected next year.

The latest changes include the frontbench return of Dan Jarvis, the former mayor of South Yorkshire who was once tipped for the Labour leadership.

Mr Jarvis has been appointed shadow minister for security in the Home Office.

Other new additions on Labour's frontbench include:

Labour MP Stella Creasy praised Sir Chris for doing a "fantastic job" as chair of the Standards Committee and said she would be "seeking the support of colleagues to take up that challenge".

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also made a few changes to his top team last week.

The prime minister is expected to carry out a wider government reshuffle in the coming months.

Both parties are holding annual party conferences in October and both leaders are looking to fine tune their top teams ahead of the next general election.