MP appointed Labour leader’s PPS

Mr Dugher will not take up his new post, which involves tracking backbench opinion in Parliament, until the autumn.

He is currently a member of the Shadow Front Bench Defence team and will stay in the role until the conclusion of the defence procurement policy review later in the year.

The move follows the resignation of Gordon Banks, the MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, as a front bench spokesperson in the business team to concentrate on his constituency.

As a result, Streatham MP Chuka Umunna has moved to Shadow Minister for Business and Industry.

Mr Dugher came into office in May last year. Before that, when Labour were in government, he worked as a special adviser in a variety of roles including transport, local government and defence.