Alex Chalk has been announced Justice Secretary following the resignation of Dominic Raab, Downing Street has said.

Mr Chalk joins Oliver Dowden who has been appointed as the new Deputy Prime Minister to Rishi Sunak. 

The appointments come after Mr Raab submitted his resignation earlier on Friday ( April 21) following a report which looked into bullying allegations against him.

The inquiry, led by Adam Tolley KC, found that he acted in an intimidating and aggressive way with officials in behaviour that could have amounted to bullying.

The Westmorland Gazette: Alex Chalk leaving 10 Downing Street, London, after Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned following the conclusion of an inquiry into bullying allegations against him. ( PA Newswire)Alex Chalk leaving 10 Downing Street, London, after Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned following the conclusion of an inquiry into bullying allegations against him. ( PA Newswire) (Image: PA Newswire)

Who is Alex Chalk?

Alex Chalk, 46, has been the MP for Cheltenham since 2015.

He becomes the 10th justice secretary in 10 years and was lord chancellor, seeing him responsible for protecting and upholding the rule of law and independence of the judiciary.

Back in October, Chalk was brought into Government by Sunak as Defence Minister.

Previously, he served as the solicitor general and a prisons minister under Boris Johnson when he was PM.

Before his career as a politician, Chalk earned a Graduate Diploma in Law with distinction from the City University London and qualified as a barrister from the Inns of Court School of Law.

He later moved into the political sphere, starting out as a Conservative councillor for Shepherds Bush Green ward on Hammersmith and Fulham Council in May 2006.

Chalk now lives in Cheltenham with his wife and three young children.

You can read more about the new Justice Secretary via the UK Government website.

See Dominic Raab's full resignation letter

In his resignation letter, Raab wrote: “Dear Prime Minister, I am writing to resign from your government, following receipt of the report arising from the inquiry conducted by Adam Tolley KC.

“I called for the inquiry and undertook to resign if it made any finding of bullying whatsoever. I believe it is important to keep my word.

“It has been a privilege to serve you as Deputy Prime Minister, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work as a minister in a range of roles and departments since 2015 and pay tribute to the many outstanding civil servants with whom I have worked.

“Whilst I feel duty bound to accept the outcome of the inquiry, it dismissed all but two of the claims levelled against me. I also believe that its two adverse findings are flawed and set a dangerous precedent for the conduct of good government.”

The resignation letter continued: “First, ministers must be able to exercise direct oversight with respect to senior officials over critical negotiations conducted on behalf of the British people, otherwise the democratic and constitutional principle of ministerial responsibility will be lost.

“This was particularly true during my time as Foreign Secretary, in the context of the Brexit negotiations over Gibraltar, when a senior diplomat breached the mandate agreed by Cabinet.

“Second, ministers must be able to give direct critical feedback on briefings and submissions to senior officials in order to set the standards and drive the reform the public expect of us. Of course, this must be done within reasonable bounds.

The Westmorland Gazette: Dominic Raab has resigned. ( PA)Dominic Raab has resigned. ( PA) (Image: PA)

“Mr Tolley concluded that I had not once, in four and a half years, sworn or shouted at anyone, let alone thrown anything or otherwise physically intimidated anyone, nor intentionally sought to belittle anyone.

“I am genuinely sorry for any unintended stress or offence that any officials felt, as a result of the pace, standards and challenge that I brought to the Ministry of Justice. That is, however, what the public expect of ministers working on their behalf.”

Concluding the letter, Raab wrote: “In setting the threshold for bullying so low, this inquiry has set a dangerous precedent.

“It will encourage spurious complaints against ministers and have a chilling effect on those driving change on behalf of your government — and ultimately the British people.

“Finally, I raised with you a number of improprieties that came to light during the course of this inquiry. They include the systematic leaking of skewed and fabricated claims to the media in breach of the rules of the inquiry and the Civil Service Code of Conduct, and the coercive removal by a senior official of dedicated private secretaries from my Ministry of Justice private office, in October of last year. I hope these will be independently reviewed.

“I remain as supportive of you and this government, as when I first introduced you at your campaign leadership launch last July. You have proved a great Prime Minister in very challenging times, and you can count on my support from the backbenches.”