Sajid Javid says he wants to see a return to normal as quickly as possible after replacing Matt Hancock as health secretary.
Speaking on Sunday, Javid said he would do all he could to deliver for the people of the United Kingdom.
His appointment comes after Hancock stood down on Saturday for breaching Covid rules with inappropriate act with a colleague.
Javid, who has had several key government roles, said his predecessor had worked incredibly hard.
Javid’s return to a senior cabinet role comes 16 months after his shock resignation as chancellor, in February last year, a month before he was due to deliver his first Budget.
At the time, the prime minister ordered him to fire his closest aides and replace them with advisers chosen by Number 10 if he wanted to remain in post – conditions he said he was “unable to accept”.
Javid, who had clashed with the prime minister’s former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, chose to quit instead and was replaced by his former deputy at the Treasury, Rishi Sunak.
Meanwhile, his appointment has been criticized by Labour, saying he had been an architect of austerity that weakened the NHS.
Speaking on Sunday to reporters, Javid said Hancock had achieved a lot in the role, adding “I’m sure he will have more to offer in public life”.
