| Updated:
Foreign Office minister Mark Simmonds quits government after resigning in reshuffle
Junior Foreign Office minister Mark Simmonds has resigned from government, the second minister in the department to do so in less than a week after Baroness Warsi quit last Tuesday.
No 10 said Simmonds’ departure had been agreed during the reshuffle and is unrelated to Warsi’s resignation over Gaza.
Simmonds remained in the post after resigning on 4 August in order to chair UN Security Council meetings.
Simmonds, who was minister for Africa at the Foreign Office, will also stand down as MP for Boston and Skegness at the general election next year.
James Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East, will replace him as under-secretary of state in the department.