Ken Clarke

Kenneth Harry "Ken" Clarke QC MP (born 2 July 1940) is a British Conservative politician, currently Member of Parliament for Rushcliffe,Secretary of State for Justice, and Lord Chancellor. He was first appointed a minister in Edward Heath's government, in 1972, and is one of Britain's best-known politicians. Since 1997 he has been President of the Tory Reform Group.

Clarke was a minister throughout the 18 years of successive Conservative governments from 1979 to 1997, serving in the cabinets of bothMargaret Thatcher and John Major. After the Conservative defeat in the 1997 general election Clarke became a backbencher. He has contested the Conservative Party leadership three times—in 1997, 2001 and 2005—and was defeated each time. Although he was considered popular with the general public, his famously pro-European integration views conflicted with the Conservative Party's scepticism of the EU. Notably, he is President of the Conservative Europe Group and Vice-President of the European Movement UK. Despite this conflict, and his involvement with the tobacco industry Conservative leader David Cameron returned Clarke to the Shadow Cabinet in March 2009 as Shadow Business Secretary. 

When Cameron became Prime Minister in May 2010 he appointed Clarke as Lord Chancellor andSecretary of State for Justice, after appointing Vince Cable, a Liberal Democrat, Business Secretary.

Mr Cameron has previously said that Mr Clarke was a "big figure" with "great experience". He was the last chancellor to lead the UK out of recession - during the John Major government of the 1990s.

His return to the Tory frontbench last year was seen as somewhat of a gamble for Mr Cameron given that Mr Clarke - who held a host of ministerial jobs in the Thatcher and Major governments - had staunchly pro-European views.

These views were widely seen to be the reason for his failure to win the three party leadership contests he entered - but Mr Cameron decided that Mr Clarke's experience was worth the risk of reopening party splits.

Mr Clarke was president of the union at Cambridge, became a QC in 1980 and after a succession of junior ministerial jobs he served as health, education and home secretaries before becoming chancellor from 1993 to 1997.

• Minister of State - Lord McNally (Liberal Democrat)
  Tom McNally is the Lib Dem Leader in the House of Lords. A former senior Downing Street adviser, MP and founding member of the SDP, he entered the House of Lords in 1995.
• Junior Justice Minister - Crispin Blunt (Conservative)
• Junior Justice Minister - Jonathan Djanogly (Conservative)