Scotland Office Minister George Foulkes has been axed in the same Cabinet reshuffle which has seen Edinburgh MP Alistair Darling promoted to transport secretary.

The reshuffle was sparked by Stephen Byers' resignation on Tuesday after mounting pressure for him to go.

Prime Minister Tony Blair began his reshuffle on Wednesday morning by moving Mr Darling from the Department of Work and Pensions to a new look Transport Ministry.

I am very much looking forward to dealing with the new challenges that my appointment will bring

Anne McGuire

As the day progressed more junior ministers were being moved, including Scottish MP Douglas Alexander from his position as e-commerce minister to the Cabinet Office.

The Paisley South MP is said to have excellent organisational skills and he is expected to be heavily involved in Labour's plans for the next General Election.

Stirling MP Anne McGuire has replaced Mr Foulkes as deputy to Helen Liddell at the Scotland Office, creating the first Whitehall department with an all female ministerial team.

Mr Foulkes said: "I completely understand the need to bring younger people into the government and have appreciated and enjoyed my time in two very interesting jobs - in International Development and the Scotland Office."

Alistair Darling is taking over the transport brief

The 60-year-old added: "I now look forward to giving vigorous support to the government from the backbenches."

Mrs McGuire is a trained teacher who has been an MP since 1997.

Married with two children, the 53-year-old has been an assistant government whip since the following year.

"I am very much looking forward to dealing with the new challenges that my appointment will bring," she said.

"I will be pleased to carry on the good work of the Scotland Office as custodian of the devolution settlement."

However, former Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond attacked the reshuffle as lacking substance.

'Same old faces'

The Banff and Buchan MP said: "I welcome Paul Boateng's appointment as the first ethnic minority Cabinet Minister, which is a positive step.

"But this is largely a reshuffle of the same old faces, and New Labour still have the same old problems - a culture of cronyism and deception, of which Stephen Byers was a symptom, not the cause.

"What is needed isn't a reshuffling of the deckchairs - it's a change of policy, a change of political culture, and a change of Prime Minister."

The reshuffle has also seen Eastwood MP Jim Murphy join the government as Labour's Scottish whip in the Commons.

His job will involve maintaining discipline amongst Scottish labour MPs and acting as a channel of communications between ministers and the backbenches.