Starmer tells Cabinet Government will deliver ‘innovation and reform’

Sir Keir Starmer pledged that the Government will be the one that “delivers the innovation and reform our country needs” when he met with ministers.

The Prime Minister gathered the Cabinet on the same day it was announced that two former advisers to former prime minister Sir Tony Blair had been given senior jobs in Whitehall.

Sir Keir told ministers on Friday that Number 10 would be organised through two main pillars: one for policy delivery and innovation, and one for national and international security.

He said: “We are going to do this.

“We are going to be the Government that delivers the innovation and reform our country needs so we can deliver the change the country voted for at the general election.”

Number 10 also announced that Sir Tony’s deputy chief of staff, Liz Lloyd, would become the director of policy delivery and innovation.

Ms Lloyd is expected to take up the position in the new year.

As well as working for the former prime minister, she was also an adviser at Number 10, in sectors including home affairs and the environment, and currently works as chief impact officer at British International Investment.

It was one of two appointments announced by the Government on Friday, as Sir Keir appointed Jonathan Powell – who also used to work for Sir Tony as chief of staff – was announced as National Security Adviser.

The veteran diplomat recently played a major role in talks over the Chagos Islands sovereignty dispute, which earlier this year saw Britain hand the territory over to Mauritius.

He will take over from Sir Tim Barrow in the position based in Number 10 after serving for 17 years in the Foreign Office and a decade in Downing Street.

The Prime Minister said Mr Powell’s experience in helping to broker a peace deal in Northern Ireland and working on “some of the world’s most complex conflicts” meant he was “uniquely qualified” to advise the Government on global challenges.