A year ago he was the lord chancellor and a member of the cabinet - but now former MP David Gauke has returned to the solicitors' profession.

Gauke has rejoined City firm Macfarlanes as head of public policy, rejoining the firm where he was a solicitor for six years until entering parliament in 2005.

He said today: 'I am really pleased to be returning to Macfarlanes in this new role, which will allow me to combine my policy experience and legal background for the purposes of providing insight and advice to clients to support their business objectives.'

Gauke resigned from the cabinet after indicating he would not serve under Boris Johnson. He stood for parliament in December as an independent in Hertfordshire South West after being removed from the Conservative party. He came second with almost 16,000 votes.

During his political career he was chief secretary to the Treasury, secretary of state for work and pensions and secretary of state for justice and lord chancellor. He was the first solicitor to hold the office of lord chancellor.

Commenting on the appointment, Macfarlanes senior partner Sebastian Prichard Jones said: 'In recent times we have seen increasing demand from clients for our assistance on topics such as our future trading relationship with the EU and the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic.

'David’s understanding of policy and the political landscape, combined with existing expertise within the firm, will enable us to support our clients further as we navigate these uncertain times.'