Priti Patel has been appointed new international development secretary by prime minister Theresa May during her first full day at number 10.
Patel, who campaigned for the UK to exit the EU, was previously employment minister and in the past has called for the department for international development to be replaced with a department for international trade and development in order to “enhance trade with the developing world.”





Pedestrians walk past a poster featuring US President Donald Trump outside the American Center in New Delhi on May 21, 2026 marking the 250th anniversary of American independence. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP via Getty Images)
FILE PHOTO: US secretary of state Marco Rubio (R) meets with Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the State Department in Washington, DC, on February 3, 2026. (Photo by Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)





