New Under Secretary of State in the Department for Transport appointed

Wendy Morton has been appointed to be a parliamentary under secretary of state in the Department for Transport.

The move took place as Chris Heaton-Harris was chosen to be minister for Europe — he will deputise for the foreign secretary as necessary on EU Exit and the Protocol.

Both changes were triggered over the weekend following the departure of Lord Frost from his role as Brexit minister.

Darren Caplan, chief executive of the Railway Industry Association, said: “On behalf of RIA, our members and the wider rail supply community, I’d like to welcome Wendy Morton MP as a new minister at the Department for Transport.

“We look forward to working with Ms Morton, with her new role at the DfT, at this pivotal time for UK rail. 2022 will be a particularly important year, with the railway industry continuing to support the UK during the Coronavirus pandemic, the sector undergoing a major restructure to the new Great British Railways model, and as we deliver major improvements to the network, including HS2, Transpennine Route Upgrade, Midlands Rail Hub, and the decarbonisation and digitalisation of the network.

“I would also like to say thank you to outgoing rail minister Chris Heaton-Harris. There are few rail ministers who have had to deal with such a crisis as Covid, but during the past 18 months Mr Heaton-Harris really has worked tirelessly with the rail supply sector, to both ensure services kept running and to enable work to continue on renewing and enhancing railway infrastructure and rolling stock at a time when many other sectors could not function, through no fault of their own. We wish him the very best of luck in his new role, and look forward to working with him on rail issues in future, in his role as MP for Daventry.”

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