Secretary of State for Scotland David Mundell came out as gay on Wednesday, becoming the first openly LGBT cabinet secretary from the governing Conservative Party. Mundell became the Scottish Secretary following the 2015 elections; he previously served as the Under-Secretary of State for Scotland.
Mundell, Scotland’s sole Tory MP, wrote on his website that “over time, I came to understand that, for me, the only way to be truly happy on a personal level is to acknowledge in public as well as in private, who I am.” He continued, “gender and sexuality should make no difference whether you are a Cabinet Minister or in any other walk of life and I hope that I can, in my own way, reinforce that message.”
A spokesperson from the Prime Minister’s office stated that David Cameron was “very pleased” with Mundell’s “very personal statement.” There are 34 openly-gay MPs 650-member House of Commons, which is the highest total number of LGBT people serving in any national legislature in the world.