Poppy Gustafsson resigns as investment minister
UK investment minister Baroness Poppy Gustafsson is stepping down less than a year after the former boss of cyber security firm Darktrace was appointed to the role by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Gustafsson is understood to be leaving to spend more time with her young family, with the announcement due in the next few days.
Her departure comes as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer carries out a wider ministerial reshuffle after his deputy Angela Rayner quit over her failure to pay the full stamp duty on a seaside flat.
The investment minister, who has only only been on post since October, is one of the only members of the government front benches with business experience, having run cyber-security firm Darktrace before entering politics.
Starmer appointed Gustafsson to the House of Lords in order to make her a minister, hailing her as “an accomplished entrepreneur who brings invaluable experience to the role“.
She had been an advocate of private sector leaders serving in government, saying earlier this year: “I for one would welcome more business people into government. You can have a real impact and your experience will be welcomed. Anyone that is thinking about it, please do let me persuade you to do it!”
Major business experience
Gustafsson oversaw a period of gargantuan growth during at the helm of Darktrace, helping take the business from little-known start-up to one of the most UK’s feted tech success stories.
The firm listed on the London Stock Exchange to great fanfare in 2021. But it only lasted three years as a public company, before it was acquired in a take-private deal that remains one of the London bourse’s darkest episodes.
Starmer’s appointment of Gustafsson was seen by many in the City as a major coup, bolstering his front bench with private sector experience. Her brief chiefly comprised luring international investment into Britain. She also helped established the fledgling Office for Investment – the government agency responsible for attracting trade to Britain.
The government is reportedly already lining up her successor but it is not yet known whether they will be another business leader elevated to the Lords, or a political appointment.
The Treasury was approached for comment.