Emily Thornberry 'sorry and surprised' after being snubbed for Cabinet job

Emily Thornberry has said she is "very sorry and surprised" to be dropped from Keir Starmer's frontbench as he appoints his new Government.

The former Shadow Attorney General confirmed today she had been snubbed for a Cabinet post and is set to return to the backbenches. Mr Starmer gave the job she held in opposition to Richard Hermer KC, a top lawyer was given a peerage to allow him to serve in Government.

Ms Thornberry, the MP for Islington South and Finsbury, becomes the most high-profile casualty of the Prime Minister's reshuffle, which has seen most ministers keep the briefs they shadowed. She had been in the Shadow Cabinet since 2016, holding a number of different roles.

In a statement, she said: "After eight and a half unbroken years in the Shadow Cabinet, a longer record of service than anyone else in that time, I have always worked my hardest to keep the Labour Party united, support our candidates across the country, take the fight to the Tories, and put a positive case to the British people about what we would do differently, including - most recently - setting out our party's policies to tackle every aspect of the fraud epidemic facing Britain, to support whistle-blowers on sexual harassment in the workplace, to protect women in co-habiting relationships, and to treat the crime of stalking with the seriousness it deserves.

"I am very sorry and surprised not to be able to continue that work in government but I wish all my brilliant colleagues well, and I know that Richard Hermer KC - a much more accomplished lawyer than I could ever hope to be - will do an outstanding job as Attorney General."

She added: "Nothing in the personal disappointment I feel can detract from the amazing and historic victory that all of us in the Labour movement worked together to win last week, and the chance that we now have to change our country for the better."

Ms Thornberry said she would continue to give her "unstinting loyalty" to the PM and the Government, as she is set to return to the backbenches.

It comes as the Prime Minister unveiled a raft of new ministerial appointments, handing the Women and Equalities brief to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson. Anneliese Dodds, who held the role in opposition, will be Equalities Minister and a Minister in the Foreign Office.

Mr Starmer insisted Ms Thornberry has a "big part to play" in Labour's future despite not being offered a ministerial job.

Speaking to reporters in Wales, the Prime Minister said: "I'm putting together a very strong team based on delivering. We got a very strong mandate at the general election, a mandate for change, a mandate for doing politics differently, and about service. That's why I'm putting my team together.

"Emily Thornberry has been fantastic, she's got a big part to play, as has every single one of my now 412 Labour MPs. But it's very important that we demonstrate the progress we're making, which is why I've been to Scotland, to Northern Ireland, and now to Wales to reset the relations."