Conor Burns

Sir Conor Burns
Official portrait, 2020
Minister of State for Trade Policy
In office
7 September 2022 – 7 October 2022
Prime MinisterLiz Truss
Preceded byPenny Mordaunt
Succeeded byGreg Hands
In office
25 July 2019 – 4 May 2020
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byGeorge Hollingbery
Succeeded byGreg Hands
Minister of State for Northern Ireland
In office
16 September 2021 – 7 September 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byRobin Walker
Succeeded bySteve Baker
Member of Parliament
for Bournemouth West
In office
6 May 2010 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byJohn Butterfill
Succeeded byJessica Toale
Personal details
Born (1972-09-24) 24 September 1972 (age 52)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Political partyConservative
Alma materUniversity of Southampton

Sir Conor Burns (born 24 September 1972) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bournemouth West from 2010 to 2024. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Minister of State for Trade Policy from 2019 to 2020 and again in 2022 and Minister of State for Northern Ireland from 2021 to 2022.

Born in Belfast, Burns moved to Hertfordshire aged eight. He worked in finance and communications before being elected for Bournemouth West at the 2010 general election. He served as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson from 2010 to 2012, when he resigned due to his opposition to the House of Lords Reform Bill 2012. He served as PPS to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, before resigning from the post in 2018 because he wanted to speak more openly on other areas of policy. Following Johnson's appointment as Prime Minister, Burns served as Minister of State for Trade Policy. He resigned from the post in 2020, after a Commons Select Committee on Standards inquiry found that he had threatened to use parliamentary privilege to intimidate a member of the public for his family's gain during a financial dispute involving his father.

In the 2021 cabinet reshuffle Johnson re-appointed Burns to his government as Minister of State for Northern Ireland. He returned as Minister of State for Trade Policy after Liz Truss became Prime Minister in September 2022. Truss dismissed Burns from the post the following month when he had the whip suspended following an allegation of misconduct at the 2022 Conservative Party Conference. He was later cleared of misconduct and the whip was restored on 3 December 2022.


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