New Prime Minister Andy Burnham reappointed Britain’s cybersecurity minister to a government post amid a sweeping overhaul of ministerial positions, holding the existing policy steady even as he abolished the department that ran it.
Liz Lloyd was appointed to a junior post at the department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) late Thursday, retaining a second job at the renamed Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST). Her formal portfolio has not been announced, but Whitehall sources say she will resume the cyber brief.
Lloyd has led on cyber since September 2025 and is steering the government’s largest cybersecurity bill in years through the House of Lords, its final chamber. Her reappointment cuts against the grain of Burnham’s removal of allies of his predecessor, Keir Starmer.
Burnham’s first appointments stripped many Starmer allies from government office while rewarding figures who contributed to his downfall. Lloyd is an unusual counterpoint, having been close to Starmer and previously serving as his director of policy delivery. She holds no elected seat, sitting instead in the House of Lords, Parliament’s appointed upper chamber, as Baroness Lloyd of Effra.
Lloyd saw the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill clear second reading in the House of Lords earlier this month with cross-party support. Line-by-line scrutiny of the bill begins in September. Replacing the minister six weeks out would have meant fresh briefing and potential delay to legislation the government wants passed this year.
The bill rewrites rules dating from 2018, and extends Britain’s cyber regulations to more organizations while granting ministers power to amend the rules and issue directions to companies on national security grounds. In particular it pulls data centers and managed service providers into scope and sets incident reporting deadlines for operators of essential services including energy, water and health care.
Lloyd was also the minister in charge when the government moved to weaken proposed cybersecurity protections for telecoms networks — developed in response to the Salt Typhoon espionage campaign — after the companies responsible for implementing the measures lobbied against them on the grounds of cost and practicality.
Three-way split
Burnham was invited by King Charles III to form a government on Monday following Starmer’s resignation after a Labour Party leadership election. Among his first acts was breaking up the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which had overseen cyber policy since 2023.
Its functions were split three ways: cyber policy and government digital services to DCMS, science to DBIST, and artificial intelligence policy and the AI Security Institute to the Cabinet Office — separating AI security work from the cyber brief for the first time. Industry figures warned the split discards the integration of data, digital capability and AI that was the department’s principal strength.
The move places cyber in a department also handling politically sensitive cultural portfolios, including Online Safety and a renewal of the BBC Charter. Whitehall sources praised DCMS permanent secretary Susannah Storey, the department’s most senior civil servant, as having extensive experience on cyber issues but said staff would still need ministerial support.
Lloyd has promised a National Cyber Action Plan — the government’s strategy for defending the wider economy against state-backed and criminal hacking — this summer. Publication had been expected earlier in July, before being delayed due to Starmer’s resignation.
A government spokesperson said: “Cybersecurity is an essential part of our daily lives, which is why we are taking robust action to protect the UK from cyber threats and improve cyber resilience across the economy. Our Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will boost UK cyber defences and improve the cyber security of our essential public and digital services.
“The functions of the former Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) have been redistributed to where they can have the most direct impact. This move recognises that technology is not a separate facet of our economy – it is the foundation of all future industry, culture, and public service delivery.”
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