Zahawi is currently a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy with construction among his responsibilities.

He will now be given a similar position simultaneously at the Department of Health and Social Care to oversee distribution of the vaccine.

His primary focus will be on the vaccine programme until at least next summer.

Zahawi said on Twitter: “Delighted to have been asked to become the minister for Covid vaccine deployment.

“A big responsibility and a big operational challenge but absolutely committed to making sure we can roll out vaccines quickly-saving lives and livelihoods and helping us build back better.”

Zahawi will be working under Health Secretary Matt Hancock who he co-authored a book with in 2011 called Masters of Nothing about the dangers of another financial crash and how irrational behaviour caused the last one.

He has been construction minister since August 2019.