Richard Townshend
DAMIAN GREEN is to act as Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee, that scrutinises arts and culture policy, in the absence of former Chair JULIAN KNIGHT.
The appointment follows the suspension of Knight, Conservative MP for Solihull, following allegations of sexual assault made to the Metropolitan Police.
Green, Conservative MP for Ashford since 1997, has been a member of the DCMS Committee since the start of the current Parliament. He previously served as Minister of State for Immigration, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and First Secretary of State under Theresa May, alongside holding a number of Shadow Cabinet positions.
He has also worked for the BBC, The Times and Channel 4.
Green, who was sacked as a minister in 2017 following allegations of pornography on his parliamentary computers, said “online safety” would be one of the key issues the committee would be considering.
“This year will undoubtably bring with it some major policy challenges in the world of DCMS, with online safety, the future of public service broadcasting, sports governance and gambling all likely to feature high up on the agenda,” Green commented.
He adds: “The Committee will continue the important work it has been doing asking the right questions and scrutinising the approach and decisions of the Government and others.”