Shaun Anthony Woodward (born 26 October 1958) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2007 to 2010.

Following the 2010 general election, Woodward was the Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland until 7 October 2011, when he was replaced by Vernon Coaker.

From 1982 to 1990, he worked as a researcher and producer for BBC TV News and Current Affairs on the programmes That's Life!, Panorama and Newsnight.

He subsequently wrote a book about Ben Hardwick, Britain's youngest liver transplant patient who had been a subject of That's Life!.

Woodward was selected as Douglas Hurd's successor as Conservative candidate for the safe seat of Witney at the 1997 election, having previously been a senior official of the party.

Elected with a 7,000 majority, he was a front-bench spokesman on London for the Conservative opposition under William Hague until 1999, when he was sacked for supporting the repeal of Section 28,[1] a regulation which aimed at preventing the promotion of homosexuality in schools.

When news of Woodward's intention to stand reached St. Helens, a strong left-wing challenge was put forward in an attempt to deny the former Conservative the safe Labour seat.

[7] As a Labour MP, Woodward served on the Joint Committee on Human Rights, and was a prominent supporter of the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

In the May 2006 reshuffle, Tony Blair named Woodward Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport with responsibilities for the digital switchover for TV.

[13] Woodward is chair of the board of trustees at the Human Dignity Trust[14] and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).