Overview

• Ian Murray confirmed he was "hugely disappointed" to leave government and said he will support the prime minister from the backbenches.
• Douglas Alexander, a New Labour veteran who held the Scotland brief in 2006–07, called his return to the Scotland Office a "real honour."
• The reshuffle followed Angela Rayner stepping down after an ethics adviser found she breached the ministerial code over underpaid stamp duty.
• Earlier this week Alexander was named co-chair of Scottish Labour’s devolved election campaign, a move widely viewed in coverage as paving the way for his promotion.
• SNP figures seized on Murray’s sacking to accuse Labour of internal strife, as recent polling cited in reports shows Labour trailing the SNP in Scotland by about 20 points ahead of next May’s Holyrood contest.