Andrew was appointed Minister for Defence People at MOD yesterday (Sunday) by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. It is Andrew's second stint as a defence minister having served at MOD a decade ago and subsequently at the Northern Ireland Office and the Foreign Office.
Andrew said;
"I'm delighted to be asked to be a defence minister again, especially given my strong constituency interest. Many residents have strong occupational or family ties to the Armed Forces and the area is home to a large veteran population, including me."
Andrew, who was serving as a reservist in Finland when he got the call at the weekend, has clocked up more than 40 years as a regular and reservist medical officer.
The welfare of defence people is close to his heart - he has a daughter in the Army, one in the Navy and his younger brother Richard is an Admiral. He has written the book on the Armed Forces Covenant and papers on mental health and prosthetics for the military community which became government policy.