Mr Garnier has moved to the post of shadow attorney general, a position that had been held by Dominic Grieve, in addition to his main role as shadow justice secretary.

BBC: Sir George Young replaces Duncan

And the position of shadow Europe minister, retained by eurosceptic MP Mark Francois, has been elevated to a shadow cabinet post.

BBC: Pickles chairman in Tory shake-up

"Mr Woodward leaves the position of shadow secretary of state with devolution firmly established and he helped play a role in achieving that outcome, " he said.

BBC: Labour has new man in Northern Ireland

Ryan's team has struggled considerably when linebackers and safeties have had to shadow pass-catching players at the position.

WSJ: New York Jets' Big Weak Spot is Stopping the Big Fellas

When the stranger was a dozen steps away from the truck and casting a long shadow on the beach, he held his position.

NPR: Excerpt: 'The Assassins Gallery'

More recently Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, has tried to nudge Labour towards a more critical position on Europe.

ECONOMIST: The coalition after the veto

Shadow justice minister Sadiq Khan described scrapping the act as a "lazy and incoherent position to hold".

BBC: Home Secretary Theresa May wants Human Rights Act axed

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the government had "put chief constables in an impossible position with a 20% front-loaded cut to their budgets".

BBC: Police pay cuts 'unavoidable' says home secretary