Theresa May completes ruthless Cabinet shake-up in bloody Day of the Long Knives

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Theresa May sacked or moved almost the entire Cabinet in a bloody Day of the Long Knives today.

The new Prime Minister acted with ruthless speed by firing Michael Gove, John Whittingdale, Nicky Morgan, Theresa Villiers and Oliver Letwin after breakfast in her Commons office.

Then the Butcher of Downing Street arrived smiling at No 10 where she called in the lucky ministers and MPs being promoted.

Among the big appointments, Liz Truss becomes Justice Secretary and Justine Greening takes over at Education – and also makes history as the first woman in a same-sex relationship to be Minister for Women and Equalities.

Shake-up: Theresa May hosted a reception for the Police Bravery Awards at Number 10 this afternoon while her reshuffle was underway
Getty Images

Tory leadership contender Andrea Leadsom becomes Environment Secretary, which makes the Brexit co-leader responsible for European farming subsidies. Her appointment completed a pattern of giving Brexiters full responsibility to deliver on the promises they made during the referendum – and ensures they will take the rap if Project Fear comes true.

Andrea Leadsom arrives at Number 10 to be officially offered her new job 
Dominic Lipinski/PA

By evening the Government had a completely new look, with just five of the 24 members of David Cameron’s Cabinet staying in the same jobs. No 10 called it a “bold Cabinet”. The only major figures left untouched were Defence Secretary Michael Fallon and Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Today’s carve-up built on the spectacular double-surprise last night of sacking George Osborne and making Boris Johnson the new Foreign Secretary.

Brexit timetable: David Davis
Getty

It was the scale of the sackings that revealed Mrs May’s determination to impose her authority and dismantle the powerful clique left behind by David Cameron and Mr Osborne.

She dismissed Michael Gove, and former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, who signed his leadership nomination papers. Then John Whittingdale was axed after just a year as Culture Secretary. Oliver Letwin, one of the most powerful behind-the-scenes fixers, lost his post at the Cabinet Office. Theresa Villiers was withdrawn from Northern Ireland and offered a junior post that she refused.

The victims were left to lick their wounds on a Tory back bench groaning with toppled heavyweights, including fallen leader Cameron and Osborne. “You have to admit she is pretty good at turning the page,” commented a Brexit backing junior minister left wondering if he will be in a job tomorrow when the lower ranks are shuffled.

A dismayed Mrs Morgan, who had attempted to mount her own bid for leader, pre-empted No 10 by announcing her own sacking on Twitter. She tweeted: “Disappointed not to be continuing as Education Secretary & Min for Women & Equalities - two wonderful roles it’s been a privilege to hold.”

Mr Gove adopted a lighter tone, tweeting: “It’s been an enormous privilege to serve for the last six years. Best of luck to the new government - MG.”

Greg Clark (Dan Kitwood/Getty )
Dan Kitwood/Getty

The unflinching purge sent a message that Mrs May would not tolerate rivalry. Almost every member of the new Government now owes his or her position to the kitten-heeled Premier.

Cabinet shake-up in full

Philip Hammond – Chancellor of the Exchequer

Boris Johnson – Foreign Secretary

Amber Rudd – Home Secretary

Michael Fallon – Defence Secretary

David Davis – Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union

Liam Fox – Secretary of State for International Trade

Liz Truss – Justice Secretary

Justine Greening – Education Secretary

Gavin Williamson – Chief Whip

Patrick McLoughlin – Party Chairman

Jeremy Hunt  remains Health Secretary

Andrea Leadsom  Environment Secretary

Damian Green  Work and Pensions Secretary

Chris Grayling  Transport Secretary

Sajid Javid - Communities Secretary

Baroness Evans  Leader of the House of Lords

Greg Clark - Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (new department)

James Brokenshire - Northern Ireland Secretary

Priti Patel - International Development Secretary

Karen Bradley - Culture Secretary

Alun Cairns - remains Secretary of State for Wales

David Gauke - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

David Mundell - remains Scotland Secretary

David Lidington - Leader of the House of Commons

Jeremy Wright - remains Attorney General

She got on with her job, including a 15-minute congratulatory call from President Barack Obama and a trickier phone conversation with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

Boris looked thrilled with his promotion this afternoon, although some ministers of foreign countries reacted with disbelief to the Leave campaigner’s good fortune.

Eurosceptic David Davis, meanwhile, will take charge of negotiating Britain's exit from the European Union and another veteran, Liam Fox, was put in charge of trade deals.

In a significant round of interviews, Philip Hammond, the new Chancellor, signalled a big change of economic policy that means a relaxation of austerity.

Among other changes, Mrs May’s leadership campaign manager Chris Grayling gets the post of Transport Secretary.

Karen Bradley, who worked under Mrs May at the Home Office, gets the important post of Culture Secretary. However, the minister for the West End is a northern MP who lists only walking and cooking among her cultural interests.

Brexit campaigner Priti Patel become International Development Secretary – running a department she once suggested should be abolished.

Greg Clark is Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, a new super-department, while his old job of Communities and Local Government, goes to former business secretary Sajid Javid.

The Prime Minister's official spokeswoman said: "This is a bold Cabinet. It's hitting the ground running. What you have seen with the appointments today is that commitment to putting social reform at the heart of her Government."

Labour said it marked a surge by right-wingers that contradicted Mrs May's "warm words” about governing "not for a privileged few, but for every one of us".

Green groups were unhappy that the Department for Energy and Climate Change was being abolished. Green MP Caroline Lucas denounced it as a "serious backwards step”.

Failed leadership candidate Stephen Crabb quit the Cabinet "in the best interests of my family", following reports in The Times reported that he had sent sexually explicit WhatsApp messages to a young woman during the EU referendum campaign.

His job of Work and Pensions Secretary went to Damian Green, a former immigration minister and policing minister sacked by Mr Cameron.

Another May ally from the Home Office, James Brokenshire, enters Cabinet as Northern Ireland Secretary.

Ex-miner Patrick McLoughlin is the new Conservative Party chairman.

Treasury minister David Gauke was promoted to the Cabinet-level role of Chief Secretary.

Alun Cairns kept his job as Wales Secretary and Mr Cameron's former parliamentary aide Gavin Williamson became chief whip.

Boris Johnson said later he was positive he could forge successful relations after Brexit. “I have been very struck by how excited and how positive people here are about the opportunities for Britain,” he said.

Mr Gove’s scalp was the one that MPs had been half expecting because of a long history of bitterness between him and Mrs May. She believed he had authorised toxic briefings against her by his aides.

His leadership campaign ended in failure after Tory MPs recoiled at his tactics in “knifing” Boris Johnson by launching his own leadership bid at the last minute.

Mr Gove declined to answer questions as he arrived home after being sacked from the cabinet.

When asked whether it was the end of his career as a senior politician and whether he would continue as an MP he replied with a smile and said "lovely to see you".

The May-Gove feud came to a head in 2014 when the then-Home Secretary was forced to accept the resignation of one of her closest aides, Fiona Hill - who is now back on the scene and installed alongside her old boss at No 10.

Mr Gove felt Mrs May was too soft on extremism in schools and the row boiled over when sources close to him attacked her handling of the alleged Birmingham “Trojan Horse” schools scandal, accusing the Home Office of failing to “drain the swamp” of extremism.

In response, the Home Office leaked a letter that then-home secretary Mrs May had written to Mr Gove, accusing his department of failing to act when she raised concerns in 2010. Mr Gove was forced to apologise and Ms Hill left her job.

Mr Gove, the 48-year-old MP for Surrey Heath, was exiled to the post of Chief Whip as punishment, then given another chance as Justice Secretary 14 months ago. However, he angered Mr Cameron by campaigning to Leave the EU and his treatment of Boris Johnson cost him vital backbench support.

Gordon Brown’s wife Sarah sent a good luck message to Mrs May’s husband Philip. She tweeted: “Wishing Philip May well in his new role - a constant feeling of being one step away from unwitting error but a huge privilege all the same.”

One of Mr Johnson's first official public statements as Foreign Secretary was to mark Thursday's first anniversary of the Iran nuclear deal, signed last year by Britain, Iran, the US, China, France, Germany, Russia and the EU.

In a statement Mr Johnson said: "The first anniversary of the Iran nuclear deal reminds us of the historic diplomatic breakthrough in Vienna that has made the world a safer place and is bringing real benefits to the people of Iran.

"Britain will continue to work with international partners to complete implementation of the deal and to ensure its benefits are realised in full."

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