Victoria Atkins was named as the UK's new health secretary on November 13, 2023, following a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. She is married to Paul Kenward, a businessman who specializes in food products. Here's what we know about him.
Paul Kenward: A British Businessman
Paul Kenward is a British businessman who is currently the chief executive of ABF Sugar, one of the world's largest sugar companies. He was formerly the managing director of British Sugar. Kenward also has a role as a director at a number of other companies, including Pride Oils and Westmill Foods. He was born in 1973 and was educated at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. He was president of the Oxford Union for a term in 1996.
Legal Cannabis Farm and Controversy
Kenward made headlines in 2018 when it was revealed that he ran a legal cannabis farm. The farm in Wissington, Norfolk, grows a non‐psychoactive variety of cannabis that is intended for use in children's epilepsy medicine. Atkins was previously accused of hypocrisy over this, having been staunchly against the use of cannabis for a number of years. She was subsequently banned from talking about cannabis-related matters in Parliament.
Family Life: Victoria, Paul, and Monty
The married couple have one son, named Monty. It is unclear what year Monty was born in, but he is believed to be 11 years old in 2023. On her website, Victoria described how they spend their spare time, saying: "We like to spend what little spare time we have going to running around after our son, Monty, building sandcastles on the beautiful Lincolnshire coastline and pulling our boots on to walk the Wolds." Monty is rarely seen in public other than rare pictures of him, which included a picture on X (formerly Twitter) of him riding a horse outside the House Of Commons with his mum close by.
Victoria Atkins' Role in the Cabinet
Atkins was made UK Health Secretary in November 2023, following a cabinet reshuffle by Rishi Sunak. She replaced Steve Barclay, who was demoted to Environment Secretary as part of the reshuffle. Atkins previously held the role of a Treasury minister but will now be in charge of the UK policies with regards to health. Other notable changes to the cabinet included the sacking of Suella Braverman as Home Secretary. Braverman was replaced by James Cleverly, who was previously Foreign Secretary. That role was taken by former Prime Minister David Cameron, who returned to politics for the first time since resigning from his post in 2016. Others to lose their jobs as part of the reshuffle included Environment Secretary Therese Coffey and Schools Minister Nick Gibb. Atkins has been a Member of Parliament for Louth and Horncastle since May 2015. She was re-elected into the role in 2017 and 2019. She was appointed to the Home Office in 2017. In 2019, Atkins resigned from her role as Justice Minister, as she had concerns with the leadership of the Conservative Party.
