UK tech minister booted out in weekend cabinet reshuffle

UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer cleared out the officials in charge of tech and digital law in a dramatic cabinet reshuffle at the weekend.

Former work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall has replaced Peter Kyle as science, innovation and technology secretary and will take over responsibility for the controversial Online Safety Act, which has drawn criticism with regard to privacy and censorship.

Starmer was forced into the reshuffle after Angela Rayner resigned as deputy PM amid a media frenzy over her tax affairs - specifically, she underpaid stamp duty on a property.

Kyle will become secretary of state for business and trade after a tenure at the science and technology ministry that included overseeing the introduction of the government's Cyber Security and Resilience (CSR) Bill.

Among his other achievements was a "partnership" with Google, in which the ad giant will "aim to upskill up to 100,000 civil servants ...