At the 2001 General Election he was made the MP for the St Helens South constituency and was the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2007 to 2010 . Shaun Anthony Woodward ( born 26 October 1958 ) is a British Labor Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament ( MP ) for St Helens South since 2001 . He served in the Cabinet from 28 June 2007 to 11 May 2010 as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland .