New PM Rishi Sunak retains Alister Jack as Scottish secretary

The new prime minister has confirmed that Alister Jack will continue in his role as Secretary of State for Scotland.

Mr Jack has held the cabinet post since being appointed by Boris Johnson in 2019.

The MP for Dumfries and Galloway was one of the ministers to survive a major reshuffle by new PM Rishi Sunak.

Nine cabinet ministers have left their posts, including former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Mr Jack was previously a prominent supporter of Mr Johnson, and was one of the few ministers who did not resign ahead of the former prime minister being forced from office earlier this year.

He declined to say who he was backing in either of the Conservative leadership contests that have been held since then.

Mr Jack said he was "very pleased" to have been reappointed as Scottish secretary.

"We are facing very significant challenges both at home and abroad, and there is much to be done," he said.

A former government whip, he was first elected in the 2017 snap election but also runs a large dairy farm near his home in Dumfries.

Mr Sunak - the UK's third prime minister since September - announced his new cabinet shortly after being appointed as prime minister by King Charles.

This included Jeremy Hunt remaining as chancellor, James Cleverly as foreign secretary and Ben Wallace as defence secretary.

Suella Braverman has been re-appointed as home secretary less than a week after she resigned from the same role in Liz Truss's cabinet.

Michael Gove and Dominic Raab are among the former ministers who have returned to the cabinet.

In many ways this is the Comeback Cabinet, with a number of high-profile figures returning to roles they held in the past, from Dominic Raab to Suella Braverman.

Rishi Sunak is pushing a message of stability as he tries to bring the Conservative Party back together after a fractious couple of months.

So perhaps it was no surprise that Alister Jack has remained in the Scotland Office, despite being seen as an ally of Boris Johnson.

He is a former whip, popular with colleagues, and has now served three prime ministers.

There is another familiar face for Scottish ministers to work with, too - Michael Gove has returned to his old post of minister for intergovernmental relations.

He always enjoyed sparring with MSPs during committee appearances at Holyrood, and Mr Sunak is keen to get his ministers appearing north of the border on a more regular basis.

Speaking outside No 10 in his first speech since becoming PM, Mr Sunak said he had been elected as Tory leader to fix the "mistakes" made by his predecessor Liz Truss.

He also warned of difficult decisions ahead as his government attempts to tackle a "profound economic crisis".

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said Mr Sunak had been "frank and honest" and praised him for not attempting to "sugar-coat the fact that tough decisions lie ahead".

Mr Ross added: "The country - like the financial markets - can be reassured that our new prime minister is uniquely qualified and will work day and night to steer Scotland and the UK through this period.

"What came across loud and clear from his address was that our new prime minister is a man of calm authority and integrity who won't be daunted by the hurdles he faces. Rishi Sunak is a serious leader for serious times."

But the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford has accused Mr Sunak of being scared of voters after he ruled out a general election - with polls suggesting Labour would be likely to win a big majority.

Mr Blackford also said the new prime minister "shared the blame" for the country's economic crisis because he "imposed a hard Brexit, slashed universal credit, and raised taxes on everyone else while his own family avoided them" while he was chancellor in Mr Johnson's government.

He added: "People are paying through their teeth for Tory mistakes as mortgages rise, pensions fall, and inflation soars.

"No-one voted for this and the Tories have no mandate to impose the devastating cuts they are now planning."