About Diana

Diana has been the Labour MP for Hull North since 2005 - the first woman elected to Westminster representing a Hull seat. Since the 2024 General Election, Diana now represents the new seat of Kingston upon Hull North and Cottingham.

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Following Labour’s victory at that same General Election, Diana is currently the Minister of State for Policing, Fire and Crime Prevention at the Home Office.

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Diana was born in the North West of England and read Law at Queen Mary College, London University. She qualified as a Barrister and worked for many years in Community Law Centres. Before entering Parliament, Diana had served as a local councillor and as a Non-Executive Director in the NHS.

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Under the Labour Government between 2005 and 2010 Diana was a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department of Children, Schools and Families and a Government Whip. Since 2010, Diana has held a variety of Labour Opposition Front Bench posts, including in Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Health.

 

Diana was Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee from December 2021 to May 2024. Alongside this, she served on the Liaison Committee and the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy. Previously Diana was a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee.

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In addition, Diana served as a member of the Independent Commission for the Integration of Refugees and since 2019 has been one of the Parliamentary representatives on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

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Diana plays an active role on the British American Parliamentary Group and has Chaired several cross-party parliamentary groups, including: Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood, Friends of the University of Hull, Human Rights, Left Behind Neighbourhoods, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Commercial Sexual Exploitation.

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Diana has a reputation of standing up for her Hull constituents at Westminster. Notable local successes include campaigning for Siemens to locate to Hull, supporting the expansion of the Hull-York Medical school, working cross-party on reducing Humber Bridge tolls, supporting Hull’s bid to be UK City of Culture 2017, and the building of a new pumping station at Bransholme after the 2007 floods.

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Diana is patron of the Hull and East Riding RSPCA, the National Civilian World War Two Memorial Trust, the Haemophilia Society and Hull and East Riding Breast Friends, a local breast cancer charity.

Diana was named Backbencher of the Year in 2018 for her work to secure a Public Inquiry into the NHS contaminated blood scandal. In the 2020 New Year’s Honours, Diana was appointed as a Dame Commander for her charitable and political work and in 2021 joined The Privy Council.

When not out and about in Hull North and Cottingham or at Westminster, Diana is a fan of crime novels, cinema, chocolate cake, strong tea and black Labradors.