Liz Truss cabinet: Sir Robert Buckland reappointed as Welsh secretary

Sir Robert Buckland switched from Rishi Sunak to Liz Truss in August

South Swindon MP Sir Robert Buckland has been reappointed as Welsh secretary in Liz Truss' first cabinet.

The announcement came in a reshuffle that saw the new Conservative PM reward allies with top jobs.

The Llanelli-born politician initially took the job in July after Simon Hart quit in a wave of resignations that triggered Boris Johnson's downfall.

But the decision to keep an MP from an English constituency as Welsh Secretary was criticised by Plaid Cymru.

Mr Buckland initially backed Rishi Sunak but publicly switched to Ms Truss mid-August.

He wrote the-then foreign secretary was the "right person to take the country forward".

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Other appointments include Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor and Suella Braverman as Home Secretary.

Nadhim Zahawi will serve as minister for intergovernmental relations - a role which covers relations with the Welsh and other devolved governments and was previously performed by Michael Gove.

Sir Robert was born in Llanelli in 1968. He went to university in Durham and practised criminal law as a barrister in Cardiff.

After joining parliament in 2010 Sir Robert served as solicitor general for England and Wales under David Cameron, and was made lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice by Boris Johnson.

Plaid Cymru's Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts said it was "hardly a ringing endorsement of the 13-strong group of Welsh Tory MPs that not a single one is deemed qualified for the job by Liz Truss".

Senedd Tory leader Andrew RT Davies said he was "very happy to see Robert Buckland remain Welsh secretary - he is an asset to our nation, and I look forward to working with him - both to make Wales a better place and hold Mark Drakeford's failing Labour government to account."

As Welsh Secretary Sir Robert heads the Wales Office, which since devolution began in 1999 has no direct role in the running of Welsh public services.

The department says it represents Wales' interests in the UK government, and ensures the devolution settlement - the system which determines what powers lie in Cardiff - delivers for Wales.

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