TWO spectres from the New Labour era have been appointed as junior ministers by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Former home secretary Jacqui Smith and Douglas Alexander, transport secretary under Tony Blair and international development secretary under Gordon Brown, have both returned to the fold.

Ms Smith will enter the House of Lords to become an education minister and Mr Alexander, back as an MP after losing his seat in 2015, is now a business minister.

Former Blair-era health secretary Alan Milburn, a longstanding advocate of greater private-sector involvement in the NHS, has also been tipped for a role in government relating to healthcare.

Former army officer Dan Jarvis has been made a Home Office minister and Jim McMahon and Matthew Pennycook ministers in the Department for Levelling-Up, Housing & Communities.

Ellie Reeves, the sister of Chancellor Rachel Reeves, has been appointed minister without portfolio.

They are among the small number of ministerial appointments made after Sir Keir confirmed his cabinet, which largely mirrors his shadow team before the general election.