Rob Wilson MP has been installed as the new minister for civil society following Saturday's resignation of Brooks Newmark in response to a Sunday Mirror sexting sting.
Wilson is a former aide to George Osborne and recent parliamentary private secretary to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. He opposes charities' campaigning.
Newmark, who was appointed to the ministerial role during the reshuffle in July, sent explicit images of himself online to an undercover reporter posing as a 'Tory PR girl'. After the story broke he said in a statement: “I would like to appeal for the privacy of my family to be respected at this time. I remain a loyal supporter of this government as its long-term economic plan continues to deliver for the British people.”
He later told a BBC journalist that he had been a "complete fool" and had no one to blame but himself.
Rob Wilson is the MP for Reading East and according to the website They Work For You has voted “very strongly” for greater restrictions on campaigning by charities and other third parties during elections.
Earlier this year he complained to the Charity Commission about the Family and Childcare Trust, claiming that its Twitter activity effectively endorsed a Labour policy because it used the same hashtag for a campaign as Labour was using.
His complaint was not upheld but he urged the Commission to update its guidance on campaigning and political activity to include social media anyway.
In July the BBC reported that Wilson turned down a ministerial position because he was about to publish a book about the formation of the coalition. At the time he refused to say which ministerial post he declined, but Channel 4 political correspondent Michael Crick has tweeted that it was the job of prisons minister.
Wilson had also previously rejected the offer of a whip's post in government.
Before entering politics he was an entrepreneur, building a number of small businesses. Before being elected MP for Reading East in 2005, he also served as a local councillor in Reading. He has written two books, The eye of the storm and 5 Days to Power
He is married with four children.
The Cabinet Office referred enquiries about Newmark's resignation to the Prime Minister's office. A statement on the 10 Downing Street website said: “The Prime Minister has accepted Brooks Newmark’s resignation from his role as minister for civil society. He will be replaced by Rob Wilson MP.”
The scandal could not have come at a worse time for the Conservatives, who are just starting their party conference today. The party had already had to deal with the defection of Mark Reckless MP to Ukip earlier on Saturday.
In the wake of the Mirror sting, another Conservative MP, Mark Pritchard, has compained to the Met Police and the new press regulator Ipso that the story was not in the public interest. Click here to read more on this.
Civil Society News has also rounded up Twitter reactions to the story in a blog. Read this here.
Reporting by Kirsty Weakley, Alice Sharman and Tania Mason. This story was originally published on Saturday 27 September and has been updated as the story developed.
