 Morris quit as education secretary last year |
Former education secretary Estelle Morris has made a surprise return to the government as arts minister. And long-serving environment minister Michael Meacher has left the government in the latest raft of changes in Tony Blair's reshuffle.
They come as a row erupted at Westminster over the cabinet changes announced on Thursday - and particularly the creation of a new constitutional affairs department.
As Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith accused Mr Blair of acting like a "dictator", Downing Street admitted the proposals were "a little hazy".
 The only thing to be remembered about this shake up may be the huge constitutional row it landed the prime minister in  |
Mr Duncan Smith said: "I am appalled by the way the prime minister has behaved - he should understand that the constitution is not his personal plaything and that it belongs ultimately to the people of this country.
"Mr Blair is behaving like a dictator. He seems to think he owns this country and can do what he likes."
But Labour chairman Ian McCartney said: "The Tories have always stood for the past, always stood for privilege - this shows that under Iain Duncan Smith nothing has changed."
Ms Morris, who replaces Baroness Blackstone, quit the government last year, saying she felt she had not performed well in the role.
She said after her appointment: "I know I don't have a hugely strong background in this, so it will be a huge challenge.
"I know I have a learning task in some of those areas that I'm not over-familiar with and that's a challenge but I've had a break, I feel rested and I've learned some lessons.
New post
"I know I can exist without a post in government, therefore I've not come back just because it's a job in government."
HAVE YOUR SAY Out goes Michael Meacher. In come GM seeds from America by the truckload. Goodbye organic farming |
Mr Meacher, meanwhile, was a long-serving member of the government whose views on GM crops - which he opposed - were increasingly at odds with the views of the prime minister.
He told Sky News: "I recognise there is a need for new talent.
"I do believe that the general picture across government has dramatically changed over the last five or six years and the suggestion that has sometimes been made that I am just some lone voice in the wilderness is totally untrue."
Former minister Chris Mullin has also rejoined the government as a foreign office minister.
In another change, education minister Margaret Hodge takes on a new post of minister for children.
The government has been under pressure to create a post aimed at addressing children's issues after the Welsh Assembly created a similar position.
Out: Michael Meacher, environment minister In: Estelle Morris, minister for arts Promoted: Margaret Hodge, minister for children Back: Chris Mullin Out: Nick Brown |
Ms Hodge is replaced by ex-Employment Minister Alan Johnson at the Department for Education as Minister for Higher Education.
Work and Pensions Minister Nick Brown leaves the government.
The shake-up being announced on Friday afternoon follows the cabinet changes revealed on Thursday.
The big surprise then was Alan Milburn's decision to quit the health portfolio.
He was replaced by leader of the Commons, John Reid.
Lord Chancellor Derry Irvine and Scottish Secretary Helen Liddell also left the government.
The new department for constitutional affairs takes over some of the responsibilities of the Lord Chancellor's Department.
The new department will also take charge of the Welsh and Scottish offices.
Downing Street at first said it would mean the end of the posts of Welsh secretary and Scottish secretary.
But new Commons leader Peter Hain says he will retain his role as Welsh secretary, while Transport Secretary Alistair Darling will also be Scottish secretary.
That plan has angered MPs, who have questioned how the two ministers can perform two roles.
I don't know whether the Queen was informed, but certainly the Lords was not informed and nor were we, that the government was intending to abolish one of the great offices of state |
Scottish and Welsh MPs want to know who to take their constituency matters to - Mr Hain, Mr Darling or Lord Falconer. And Mr Hain has said Downing Street failed to present the plans clearly.
Meanwhile the government has been accused of sweeping away 1,400 years of history by ending the post of Lord Chancellor.
Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews said the decision should have been subject to extensive consultation rather than being drawn up "on the back of an envelope".
Tory MPs have called for a Commons statement to clarify the plans announced on Thursday.
The Tories are also angry after Dr Reid's appointment as health secretary, saying it is wrong for a Scottish MP to be in charge of the health service for England.
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