Former Tory leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat will replace Dame Priti Patel as shadow foreign secretary, BBC News has been told.
As first reported by the Daily Telegraph, he will return to the Conservative front bench when Kemi Badenoch reshuffles her team next month.
Dame Priti wrote on social media that she would be leaving the front bench position to take up a new role focused on strengthening “links with sister parties and centre right movements around the world”.
It comes after shadow housing secretary Sir James Cleverly said he was resigning in order to run for London mayor.
The move will see Tugendhat return to a senior role for the first time since finishing fourth in the 2024 Tory leadership election.
The former British Army reserve and Territorial Army officer has long been vocal on international affairs and security matters.
He served as security minister under Liz Truss and Boris Johnson and prior to that spent five years as chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.
Dame Priti was appointed to Badenoch’s shadow cabinet after finishing sixth in the leadership election, and previously held senior roles in successive Tory governments, including a three-year spell as home secretary under Boris Johnson.
Announcing her departure in a statement on X, she wrote: “It has been an honour to lead the Party’s foreign affairs team in Parliament over the last two years.
“I’m pleased to continue supporting Kemi and the Conservative Party in a new role strengthening our relationships with fellow conservatives and centre right parties around the world.”
She said she would continue to serve as the MP for Witham in Essex.
A Conservative reshuffle had already been expected in the coming weeks because of the shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho’s upcoming maternity leave.
In recent weeks, people within the party have played down speculation that the shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride could also lose his job in the changes.
But some sources within the party still believe Badenoch could choose to replace him.
Many within the Conservative Party view Coutinho as a likely future shadow chancellor. The shadow energy secretary is said to have impressed colleagues with her performances in Parliament and the media.
But it is unlikely Badenoch will move to appoint her as shadow chancellor while she is on leave from the front bench.
The Conservative leader will also need to replace Sir James as her shadow housing secretary after he quit the front bench to focus on setting up a campaign to run for London mayor.
He has not yet been selected as the party’s candidate for the May 2028 election, nor has he resigned as the MP for Braintree.
