Who is James Cleverly? Ex-military man turned home secretary who has an affinity for Warhammer

Home Secretary James Cleverly has quickly risen through the political ranks after first being elected a Tory MP in 2015.

Born in Lewisham, Mr Cleverly entered the Army Reserve at the age of 22, before ultimately ending his military career as a lieutenant colonel in March 2015 - months before he was elected as the MP for Braintree in Essex.

But Mr Cleverly's first foray into the world of politics was long before then.

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In 2007, the father-of-two was selected as the candidate for the Bexley and Bromley seat on the London Assembly after a very tightly fought selection contest. He won the seat the following year with more than 50% of the vote.

He later became then mayor of London Boris Johnson's youth ambassador, an appointment which caused some controversy as it was filled by a member of the Assembly - which is tasked with scrutinising the mayor.

It wasn't until 2015 that Mr Cleverly first sat in the House of Commons as the Conservative MP for Braintree.

He has held the constituency ever since, alongside taking on a wide range of ministerial positions, and is battling for re-election on 4 July.

Mr Cleverly first became a minister under Mr Johnson in July 2019, as minister without portfolio.

In February 2020, he was appointed as a joint minister of state for the Middle East and North Africa in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, a position he later took on solely in February 2022.

In July of the same year, when the government was in a tumultuous period of change, Mr Cleverly entered the cabinet as the Secretary of State for Education.

He held this office for just three months, before being appointed as foreign secretary by then prime minister Liz Truss.

Though Ms Truss's premiership only lasted a matter of weeks, Mr Cleverly remained in this post until November 2023.

At this point, he was appointed home secretary by Rishi Sunak, who was reshuffling his cabinet amid mounting pressure to sack Suella Braverman.

The ex-home secretary had faced criticism over an op-ed she wrote in The Times, in which she accused the police of "playing favourites" with pro-Palestine protesters.

Mr Sunak initially backed her, but later confessed she had not run the article past his office before publication.

Away from the Home Office, Mr Cleverly has been married to Susannah Sparks since 2000, with whom he has two sons - Freddy and Rupert.

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The minister came under fire in December after joking about spiking his wife's drink with a date rape drug. He later apologised for the "ironic joke", which was made a Number 10 reception.

Elsewhere, Mr Cleverly is notably a fan of the miniature wargame Warhammer, and has been spotted with the painted figurines in his home.

The other candidates standing in Braintree are:

• Kieran Anthony Franks, Liberal Democrats
• David Heather, Independent
• Richard Thomson, Reform UK
• Paul Thorogood, Green Party
• Matthew Wright, Labour Party