New shadow NI secretary prioritises Irish border

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Tony Lloyd was focused on getting devolution back on track

Northern Ireland's new shadow secretary of state has said his top priority will be preventing a "hard border" when the UK leaves the EU.

Labour MP Tony Lloyd has taken over from Owen Smith, who was sacked at the weekend by party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Smith was fired after he broke ranks with Labour's official policy by calling for another Brexit referendum.

Mr Lloyd is from Stretford in Manchester, and was elected MP for Rochdale last June.

'Highly experienced'

"As we leave the European Union, ensuring there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic is of paramount importance and this will be my number one priority," he said after his appointment on Friday.

"This is an incredibly important job, with a huge in-tray and I am looking forward to starting work."

Mr Corbyn described him as a "highly experienced former government minister who is committed to ensuring that peace in Northern Ireland is maintained and helping to steer the devolution deal back on track".

Northern Ireland has been without a devolved government for 14 months, after the DUP-Sinn Féin-led coalition collapsed in January 2017.

Prior to his most recent election, Mr Lloyd spent almost 20 years as a Westminster MP, firstly representing his native Stretford, which later became the Manchester Central constituency.

Under the leadership of Tony Blair in 1997, he served as a junior minister at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

He also held a number of positions in the shadow cabinet in the 1980s and 1990s including foreign affairs, environment, education, employment and transport.

Mr Lloyd stood down as an MP in 2012 to contest the Police and Crime Commissioner election.

He won the vote and was the first person to hold the title of Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner.