John Whittingdale was appointed secretary of state for culture, media and sport in May 2015,a position he held until July 2016. Previously, he served as chair of the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee since 2005. He has been MP for Maldon in Essex since 1992; prior to his election, John worked both in Whitehall and the City.
During his time in parliament, John occupied several other positions including parliamentary private secretary to William Hague, shadow secretary of state for trade and industry and shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport. Between 2006 and his appointment to the cabinet in 2015, John was also the vice chair of the Conservative Parliamentary 1922 Committee.
Click here to return to the list of speakers