I am delighted and honoured to have been asked by our new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to serve in his first Cabinet as his Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

As we make our way in the world – leaving the European Union by the 31st October and taking our place once more as a globally-focussed free-trading nation – it is vitally important that British businesses have the confidence and certainty they need to make investment and hiring decisions as they grow to meet the opportunities that lie ahead. Boris Johnson is exactly the right person to deliver the leadership from No. 10 that will do this, and I am pleased to be supporting him in such an exciting and energised department!

I am joined at BEIS by a fantastic Ministerial team – Jo Johnson, Kwasi Kwarteng, Kelly Tolhurst, Nadhim Zahawi and Lord Duncan – and I look forward to working with them to champion our fantastic British businesses at home and abroad, whilst we also turn our attention to ensuring that the UK is a net-zero carbon country by 2050.