Patricia Hewitt, now a minister of state at the Department of Trade and Industry, is tipped as a possible replacement.

ECONOMIST: A better way to run a railway

He was also a minister of state at the Department of Trade and Industry during the 1990s and his various junior ministerial jobs covered tourism, Scotland, the environment, and consumer affairs.

BBC: Lord Strathclyde resigns from cabinet

Hurt took an interest in Lord Smith's report into the state of the UK film industry and accused Prime Minister David Cameron of "not quite understanding it" when he suggested funding should be directed towards "commercially viable" films.

BBC: John Hurt 'moved' by Bafta Outstanding Achievement