Rachael Maskell has replaced Kerry McCarthy as Labour’s Shadow Environment Secretary.

After Kerry McCarthy resigned on Sunday, one of a number of Labour’s front bench MPs to do so following the sacking of former Shadow Foreign Secretary Hillary Benn, York Central MP Maskell was appointed to the brief on Monday morning.

A former NHS worker and trade union official, Maskell was working on the Shadow Defence team, under Shadow Secretary Maria Eagle up until her appointment as Shadow Secretary. She entered Parliament following the May 2015 general election, having successfully defended the York Central seat for the Labour Party.