EPARobert Jenrick has accepted the job of shadow justice secretary in Kemi Badenoch’s senior team, the BBC understands.
The new Tory leader is also expected to name Dame Priti Patel as shadow foreign secretary and Mel Stride as shadow chancellor.
Dame Priti, Stride and Jenrick are all candidates against Badenoch in the Tory leadership race, with Badenoch beating Jenrick in the final round.
The BBC has been told there is “back-and-forth” over a number of positions and that Jenrick has been offered several roles in the shadow cabinet before accepting one.
The pair clashed during the final weeks of the leadership campaign, with Jenrick accused Badenoch is “disrespectful” to Tory members by not establishing policy.
Badenoch said he would not use those words and, defending his own approach, said he would not make a promise “unless I know how to deliver”.
However, after the conclusion of the contest both candidates exchanged heated words.
In his victory speech on Saturday, Badenoch praised Jenrick’s “energy and determination”, adding: “You and I know that we disagree a lot, and I have no doubt that you played an important role in our party for many years. “
Jenrick in turn congratulated the opponent on the win and urged the Conservatives to unite behind the new leader.
A formal announcement of Badenoch’s shadow cabinet is expected before the first meeting on Tuesday.
Former Chief Secretary to the Treasury Laura Trott has been given the job of shadow education secretary, with Neil O’Brien appointed shadow education minister.
Trott and O’Brien have emerged in new roles in the House of Commons on Education Questions.
Nigel Huddleston and Lord Dominic Johnson have also been appointed joint chairmen of the Conservative party, the BBC understands.
It follows the appointment of Castle Point MP Dame Rebecca Harris is Tory chief whip on Sunday night.
Getty ImagesThe new shadow foreign secretary, Dame Priti, has represented the Essex constituency of Witham since 2010 and served in several government departments when the Conservatives came to power.
He was forced to resign as international development secretary in 2017 after an unauthorized meeting with Israeli officials, but was brought back into government by Boris Johnson, who gave him the senior role of home secretary.
At the Home Office, he started the Rwanda policy, which aimed to stop people crossing the English Channel in small boats by deporting them to the East African country, but was scrapped by the new Labor government.
A prominent supporter of Brexit, he is seen on the far right of the party. By contrast Stride comes more from the left side.
Like Dame Priti, she joined Parliament in 2010, won the Central Devon constituency, and has served in a number of government departments.
A close ally of Rishi Sunak, he was given the job of labor and pension secretary and during the general election was believed to make frequent media appearances.
On Sunday, Badenoch told the BBC that he thought taxes were too high under Sunak, but had now offered one of his most prominent supporters the role of shadow chancellor.
PA MediaNew shadow education secretary Laura Trott has been MP for Sevenoaks in Kent since 2019, and was second in command at the Treasury under Jeremy Hunt when he was chancellor.
Neil O’Brien has been MP for Harborough, Oadby and Wigston since 2017 and was most recently health minister. He resigned from the Sunak government in November 2023 and took a more critical stance towards the then prime minister from the backbenches.
While Trott and Huddleston have backed Badenoch in the lead, O’Brien has backed his rival Jenrick.
The current Labor government has 120 ministers, meaning the Tories may struggle to imagine all the posts as they only have 121 MPs.
Former Home Secretary and defeated leadership candidate James Cleverly last week could not form a shadow cabinet, told the FT he has been “liberated” from 16 years on the political front line and now “not particularly in the mood to be boxed back into the arrow band again”.
Former Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, former Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden, former Deputy Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell and former Environment Secretary Steve Barclay have also said they will return to the backbenches and not serve in the new shadow cabinet.
