Edward Garnier confirmed as Shadow Attorney General

Sir George Young replaced Alan Duncan as Shadow Leader of the House; and Alan Duncan took the job of shadow prisons minister in the Justice team from Edward Garnier. So what has happenbed to Edward Garnier?

I can now confirm that the Harborough MP has been promoted to Shadow Attorney General - a role which Dominic Grieve had been fulfilling at the same time as being successively Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Justice Secretary. Mr Grieve will now be able to concentrate solely on his duties as Shadow Justice Secretary.

Mr Garnier returns to a role which he held previously under William Hague between 1999 and 2001. He spoke exclusively to ConservativeHome about his new role:

"There are growing problems with the CPS; the criminal bar is in a state of depression; there is no money to pay for criminal legal aid and a number of problems which need to be sorted out in order to have a functioning criminal justice system. So there's plenty of hard work needing to be done in the attorney's world beyond the more obvious things like advising the shadow cabinet on matters of law."

He also said that he would miss the role which Alan Duncan has taken on:

"I'll miss the prisons job - I did it for nearly four years and it has been the most interesting and challenging public policy work I have done. The prison system is in a state of terrible disrepair: prisons are overcrowded, the staff are demoralised and the buildings are old and difficult to manage as the prison population goes up daily. The Government has a policy vacuum in this area, so Alan has a fascinating job to go to. I assure him it is a job he will find utterly absorbing and rewarding."

Jonathan Isaby