Lord Sarwar stepped down as leader of the Scottish Labour Party before taking up a seat in the House of Lords, so he could take a job within Andy Burnham’s new government.

The former Scottish Labour leader attended the meeting as part of his role as Minister of State for Trade at the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, promising to represent the people of Scotland in his new role.

He took to LinkedIn to reveal the meeting with the financial services sector, writing: “I met with BlackRock and financial services leaders in Edinburgh yesterday to emphasise my commitment to the sector, to recognise the significant role they are playing and to make clear that I am determined to work with them to achieve more. Many exciting plans ahead!

“Our financial services sector is a leader in trade exports, a key driver of economic growth and helps attract inward investment.”