Mr Peter Mandelson, the new Northern Secretary, yesterday appointed Ms Helen Jackson, MP for Sheffield Hillsborough, as his Parliamentary Private Secretary.
Mr Mandelson said she had been an "excellent" PPS to his predecessor, Dr Mo Mowlam, and he was pleased to appoint her. "She will be an invaluable help and I look forward to working with her," he said.
Ms Jackson, who has been an MP since 1992, said she had felt very privileged to be part of the team which worked so hard to bring the parties together to the Belfast Agreement and the referendum vote last year.