Peter Kyle: Who is new shadow Northern Ireland secretary?

Peter Kyle has replaced Louise Haigh as the shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland

From charity work to the halls of Westminster, Peter Kyle has started the next stage of his career as the shadow Northern Ireland secretary.

He replaces Louise Haigh as part of a reshuffle of senior roles in the Labour Party by leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Described by one respected Westminster watcher as a "very hotly-rated" figure in party, Mr Kyle had a varied background before his political career.

But he could be facing a steep learning curve on Northern Ireland matters.

That is because a glance through Hansard reveals that the 51-year-old has not mentioned Northern Ireland in any of his contributions in Parliament.

He comes to the role of shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland as a "clean skin", according to Patrick Maguire, editor of the Times Red Box.

"He is very trusted not just by Keir Starmer but people around the Labour leadership," Mr Maguire told BBC News NI.

"He's very hotly rated, he's been discussed as an up-and-coming shadow minister for quite some time.

"Northern Ireland briefs in Westminster can sometimes be treated as a backwater, somewhere to put someone who may otherwise make trouble or wouldn't otherwise fit in.

"In putting a rising star of the shadow cabinet there it's a measure of the importance Keir Starmer places upon this brief as an opportunity to hammer the Tories for not making Brexit work, as he puts it."

Charity background

Mr Kyle was first elected to Parliament as the MP for Hove and Portslade on the south coast of England in 2015.

Before politics, he was the deputy chief executive of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO).

He had also worked as an aid worker in eastern Europe and the Balkans, during which time he helped to establish an orphanage in Romania.

• Shadow NI secretary Haigh replaced in Labour reshuffle

It was after that work that he moved into the political sphere, focusing on issues of social exclusion as a policy official in the Cabinet Office.

In 2015, he was elected as an MP with a majority of just over 1,200.

That increased to over 18,000 in 2017 and was more than 17,000 in 2019.

Peter Kyle says he uses cream paper to help him avoid stumbling when making speeches

That year Mr Kyle called for social media users to stay away from "sneering or brutal" exchanges online about his use of the platform as he was living with acute dyslexia.

He said he had been assessed for dyslexia at the age of 30 and was told his reading and comprehension age was estimated to be eight years and three months.

"For some things, like word comprehension, I was in the bottom one percentile," he said.

"For others, like word association, the top one percentile."

He said that while "most people were forgiving", others were not and he had faced comments such as: "[You] can't be an MP if you can't even spell."

After returning to school aged 25, Mr Kyle achieved a PhD in community economic development.

Outspoken against threats

He has described Brexit as the "biggest issue our country has faced for generations" and said he wanted the UK to remain in the EU customs union and single market, or for Brexit to be opposed altogether.

As a gay politician, he has supported Pride events as a "protest" and a "festival that celebrates love".

During his Labour career, Mr Kyle has served as a shadow minister for schools and a shadow minister for justice and was a member of the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.

He has been outspoken about the threats which have faced MPs, revealing that on one occasion he required an armed police escort.

"Extremely violent threats, death threats, and even threatening approaches to my extended family have become part of the job," he said in a social media post.

"Sometimes, if urgent, it triggers emergency action like being told by the police to stay somewhere safe until someone is apprehended or they can check my home is a safe place for me to return to.

"Being accessible, available and in touch with people across our community is an essential, non-negotiable part of the job for me."