David Lammy appointed UK Deputy PM amid Starmer’s cabinet reshuffle after Rayner’s resignation

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday carried out a major cabinet reshuffle, naming David Lammy as Deputy Prime Minister after Angela Rayner resigned over a tax underpayment controversy.

Angela Rayner, who was also serving as Housing Secretary, resigned after admitting to underpaying tax on a recently purchased home on England’s south coast.

David Lammy, 53, has been elevated to Deputy Prime Minister and will additionally oversee the Justice portfolio.

Who is David Lammy?

Lammy was previously Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs between July 5, 2024 and September 5, 2025. He was first elected as Labour MP for Tottenham at the age of 27 in June 2000.

David studied law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Law School and Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 1994.

David was appointed the Shadow Foreign Secretary in November 2021. He was previously the Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and the Shadow Lord Chancellor.

He served as a minister in the Labour government from 2001 to 2010 and was made a Privy Councillor in 2008. He was in several departments, including the Department of Health and the Department of Constitutional Affairs. He was Culture Minister at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport and Higher Education and Intellectual Property Minister at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills.