Anne-Marie Trevelyan Appointed As New Defence Minister

The Berwick MP backed Boris Johnson in the Tory leadership contest (Picture: UK Parliament).

Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP has been appointed as a new defence minister as Boris Johnson continues to shape his cabinet. 

The pro-Brexit MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, who supported Mr Johnson in the Tory leadership race, previously worked as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to education ministers before resigning over Theresa May's Brexit plan in November 2018.

No details have yet been released of what role and responsibilities Ms Trevelyan will hold at the Ministry of Defence (MOD). 

In a tweet, she said "it is such an honour to be invited by the PM...to join the ministerial team". 

The announcement came a day after the Minister for Defence People and Veterans, Tobias Ellwood, was sacked.

Penny Mordaunt, the UK's first female defence secretary, was also sacked by Mr Johnson and replaced by Ben Wallace. 

Ms Trevelyan has been the MP for Berwick since 2015 and is a member of the Public Accounts Committee.

According to the voting records website TheyWorkForYou.com, Ms Trevelyan has consistently voted for the use of British military forces in combat operations overseas and for airstrikes against the so-called Islamic State in Syria. 

She has also consistently voted for replacing the UK's Trident nuclear deterrent programme with a new system. 

In March, Ms Trevelyan warned the MOD that the British military is losing the opportunity to hire "brilliant minds" due to moves to stop people with autism from applying.

Ms Trevelyan, whose son has Asperger's syndrome, appealed to the MOD at the time to work with her to deal with the "fundamental failure" in the application system. 

She has also previously criticised defence spending.

Earlier this month, Ms Trevelyan said the current defence budget is not enough to "keep us all safe" and said "the shortfall in funding and financial frameworks leaves us horribly exposed to unknown threats".