Duo seem set to replace tech-focused ministers that resigned last week

Credit: Parliament/CC BY 3.0

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has added Matt Warman and Damian Collins to its ministerial line-up.

The new appointees seem set to replace the two ministers – Julia Lopez and Chris Philp – who quit their posts last week as part of the deluge of resignations that prompted prime minister Boris Johnson to also hand in his notice.

Warman (pictured above, on the left), the MP for Boston and Skegness, has been appointed to a role at minister of state level – indicating he will likely take over the portfolio of Lopez, who was minister for media, data and digital infrastructure. 

This role is near-identical to his previous government posting – a two-year stint at DCMS from June 2019 to September 2021, during which he served first as broadband minister, before taking on the somewhat expanded brief of minister for digital infrastructure.

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If it exactly mimics that of Lopez, his new role will be broader still, encompassing areas including 5G networks, the regulation of digital identities, and the delivery of the National Cyber Strategy, which was published late last year.

Prior to joining parliament in 2015 general election, Warman worked as a technology journalist.

Joining DCMS at the slightly more junior level of parliamentary under secretary of state is Collins (pictured above right), who is replacing Chris Philp as minister for tech and the digital economy. 

The role comes with responsibility for digital policy, gambling and, most notably, the Online Safety Bill that is currently making its way through parliament – but is not without opposition from Conservative MPs, including some leadership candidates.

Collins was elected as MP for Folkestone and Hythe in 2010. His appointment at DCMS is his first ministerial role – although he will have a keen awareness of the department’s work and policy areas, having chaired the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee from 2017 to 2019.