Forest of Dean MP appointed Minister for Transport

Forest of Dean MP Mark Harper has been appointed Secretary of State for Transport by the Prime Minister.

He said: "Transport affects us all, and I can’t wait to tackle the challenges we face so we can deliver for communities across our United Kingdom, whilst, of course, continuing to work hard to support local communities and businesses in the Forest of Dean."

Mark grew up in Swindon, attending Headlands School, Swindon, and Swindon College and going on to Brasenose College, Oxford.

He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in 1995 and until 2002, worked for the Intel Corporation in a variety of roles including finance, business operations and marketing before establishing his own chartered accountancy business in the Forest of Dean.

In December 2005, he was appointed as a Shadow Minister for Defence and in July 2007 as a Shadow Minister for Disabled People.

In 2012, he was appointed Minister of State for Immigration at the Home Office by the then Prime Minister, Rt Hon David Cameron MP, but resigned from this post in February 2014 after learning that his private cleaner for seven years did not have permission to work in the UK. He returned to Government in July 2014 when he was appointed as Minister for Disabled People.