Victoria Atkins might not have the public profile of cabinet peers, but her appointment as health secretary caps several years of steady, if unshowy, handling of briefs in junior ministerial roles.
An MP since 2015 and a backer of Rishi Sunak in the 2022 Conservative leadership contest, her elevation has been warmly welcomed by colleagues in the centrist wing of the Conservative party, who also emphasised what they regarded as her competence.
