LONDON -UNS: A Pakistani-origin Shabana Mahmood has been appointed as the UK’s new Home Secretary in a cabinet reshuffle led by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
This move comes after the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who stepped down due to a tax error controversy.
Mahmood, 44, is seen as a “safe pair of hands” in Labour and has previously served as Justice Secretary, introducing measures to manage overcrowded prisons and address court backlogs.
Shabana was born in Birmingham in 1980,with Pakistani parents. Mahmood spent her early years in Saudi Arabia before returning to the UK. She studied law at Lincoln College, Oxford, and qualified as a barrister.
She was elected as an MP for Birmingham Ladywood in 2010, Mahmood has held several shadow cabinet roles, including Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Shadow Minister for Prisons.
As Home Secretary, Mahmood will oversee immigration, policing, and national security administration, making her the first Muslim woman to hold this position in the UK.D
avid Lammy has been appointed as Deputy Prime Minister, while Yvette Cooper becomes the new Foreign Secretary.
Shabana Mahmood will face crucial challenges, including asylum backlogs, deportation cases, grooming gang inquiries, and police reforms.
