Who is Chris Bryant, the new secretary of state for Northern Ireland?

Removal of Hillary Benn from role was among surprising moves of Andy Burnham's first day as prime minister

Chris Bryant leaving No 10 Downing Street as Andy Burnham appointed his new Cabinet. Picture: PA

One of the more surprising moves on the first day of Andy Burnham's premiership in the UK was the removal of Hillary Benn from the office of secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

Across the political divide, leaders lined up to pay tribute to Mr Benn. DUP leader Gavin Robinson called him an “honourable man”, while foreign affairs minister Helen McEntee thanked Mr Benn for his “deep commitment to Northern Ireland and to the UK-Ireland relationship more broadly”.

In his place, Mr Burnham has appointed Chris Bryant, a former Anglican priest and long-time MP who had been minister of state at the Department for Business and Trade since September 2025, and was previously minister of state at the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Mr Bryant's path to Labour politics was a long and winding one. He was ordained as a deacon in the Church of England in 1986 after studying theology in Buenos Aires and at Ripon College, Oxford. He left the priesthood in 1991 after deciding being gay and a priest were incompatible.

In a 2010 interview, he said: "When I was ordained [in 1986], the view on homosexuality was 'Don't ask, don't tell', and, anyway, I wasn't really certain where I was going, but by 1991 I thought, hang on I'm gay, and the church had changed its position a bit — it had decided the Bible doesn't really like gays... I thought there are battles I want to fight; this isn't a battle I want to fight all my life; I want to go and do something where I can be open and honest about myself and have a partner and all of that."

Mr Bryant spent 1993 to 1998 as a councillor on the Hackney Borough Council in London before joining the BBC as head of European affairs before moving back into politics.

The Rhondda and Ogmore MP was first elected in 2001, having surprised many by winning first the candidacy and then the seat. In 2006, he was among a group of Labour MPs who signed a letter urging then prime minister Tony Blair to step down.

He was deputy leader of the House of Commons from 2008 to 2009 and served on a number of committees.

Mr Bryant has spoken openly about his sexual abuse as a teenager by the former head of the UK’s National Theatre, Michael Croft.

"He behaved absolutely appallingly, it's despicable," he told The Sunday Times.

Mr Bryant also revealed he was sexually abused by five male MPs during his time in Westminster.

Mr Bryant is a committed supporter of the EU and has already been branded "an EU fanatic" by Northern Irish unionist politician Jim Allister.

He was knighted in 2023 for his services to political and public life.