Ottaway steps down from frontbench
The Conservative environmental spokesman has announced that he is stepping down from his frontbench position.
Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Richard Ottaway, will instead be taking up a position on the Commons Defence Select Committee.
In a mini-reshuffle, his responsibilities will be taken over by the Shadow Secretary of State for Environment and Transport, Tim Yeo, and by James Gray, who currently speaks on rural affairs for the Conservatives.
Crispin Blunt, who famously resigned from Iain Duncan Smith’s frontbench team in May 2003 on the eve of the local elections, returns to the Shadow team as a whip.
He is joined in the whips’ office by fellow backbencher Andrew Selous. Mr Selous has been in the Commons since 2001, after campaigning on a euro-sceptic “Keep the Pound” ticket.
No reasons have yet been given for Mr Ottaway’s switch, but his history makes him an obvious candidate for the Committee. Having previously served in the Navy for nine years before working as a solicitor, Mr Ottaway was also the Conservative spokesman on defence between 1999 and 2000.
