- After clearing out several key positions, Mrs May will today continue in remoulding her Cabinet after taking top job
- Justine Greening was made Education Secretary, Liz Truss is in at Justice, and Gavin Williamson is the chief whip
- Patrick McLoughlin was moved from transport to be Tory Party Chairman and the new Duchy of Lancaster
- New PM spent much of yesterday in talks with civil servants and advisers and today set to work on her new team
- May has made Boris Johnson Foreign Secretary, Amber Rudd Home Secretary and Philip Hammond Chancellor
Theresa Villiers, who was Northern Ireland Secretary, resigned this lunchtime after being offered a new job and turning it down.
In her appointments today, Liz Truss was made Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary while Justine Greening was installed as Education Secretary and minister for women.
Gavin Williamson, the long term Parliamentary aide to David Cameron, was made chief whip today in a huge promotion. Patrick McLoughlin was moved from transport to be party chairman and the new Duchy of Lancaster - effectively a fixer helping the Government run.
Mrs May met MPs she was firing in Parliament to carry out the sackings and No 10 confirmed the departures of Mr Gove, Mr Letwin, Mr Whittingdale and Mrs Morgan from Government. The new PM then travelled to Downing Street to make her new appointments at No 10.
Mr Gove ran against Mrs May for the Tory leadership - exploding Boris Johnson's hopes for No 10 in the process - with the backing of Mrs Morgan, who signed his nomination papers. Mr Whittingdale had also supported Mr Gove for the top job.
Today's sackings come the morning after Mrs May disposed of George Osborne's services as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Andrea Leadsom, another leadership rival of Mrs May, and Chris Gratling, her campaign manager, are still awaiting news on a jobs - and both took Commons questions in their old briefs.
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| Theresa May arrived at Downing Street this morning after a brutal morning spent sacking a series of colleagues from the Government |
Mrs Morgan today tweeted: 'Disappointed not to be continuing as Education Secretary & Min for Women & Equalities - two wonderful roles it's been a privilege to hold.'
Mr Whittingdale said: 'Has been a privilege to serve as Culture Secretary. I wish my successor every success & will continue to support creative industries.'
Mr Gove tweeted: 'It's been an enormous privilege to serve for the last six years. Best of luck to the new government.'
Reacting to the sackings, Tory MP Nadine Dorries - who had a long running feud with Mr Cameron - said: 'Karma can be such a b****.'
Mrs May last night made the bombshell appointment of leading Brexiteer Boris Johnson to the Foreign Office, made David Davis Brexit Secretary and Liam Fox an International Trade Secretary.
Allies Philip Hammond and Amber Rudd were handed the Treasury and Home Office respectively, while Michael Fallon stays on at defence. Alongside the ministerial changes, Mrs May looked set to rearrange the structure of Government to accommodate her new Brexit and International Trade departments.
The Department for Education appeared set to take on responsibility for universities and higher education, currently covered by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
In return BIS is expected to absorb the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
Creating two new Secretaries of State means Mrs May needs to either change the law or eliminate two existing positions.
Liz Truss(Left) was the first into Downing Street today and was appointed as Justice Secretary. Justine Greening(2nd Left) also arrived at Downing Street this morning to be made Education Secretary. Also into No 10 today were Patrick McLoughlin(3rd Left), who is now party chairman, and Gavin Williamson(Right), the new chief whip.
One of Mrs May’s first moves as Prime Minister last night was to speak to leaders across Europe, telling them she would deliver the split from the EU that Britons voted for last month but warned it could take time to prepare for negotiations.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was the first to congratulate Mrs May, phoning during a visit to Kyrgyzstan last night.
She invited the new UK premier to visit Germany in the coming months and said she was looked forward to meeting her at the G20 in China in September.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: 'The Prime Minister explained that we would need some time to prepare for these negotiations and spoke of her hope that these could be conducted in a constructive and positive spirit.
‘They agreed that they wanted to establish a constructive relationship, recognising the importance of close co-operation between the UK and Germany.’
Mrs May also took congratulatory calls from French President Francois Hollande and the Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who she invited to visit London for talks.
President Hollande stressed the importance of the bilateral relationship between France and Britain, particularly security and defence co-operation and also the joint work on border controls in Calais.
'The Prime Minister offered her best wishes to the President and the people of France for Bastille Day tomorrow and the President invited the Prime Minister to visit Paris,' the spokeswoman said.
Mrs Leadsom dropped out of the Tory leadership race on Monday, handing Mrs May the keys to No 10.
Her senior allies claimed she had been forced out of the contest by ’spin and underhand tactics’ as the leadership contest ended in furious Tory bloodletting.
MPs on the Right of the party made no attempt to conceal their anger at fellow MPs who had criticised Mrs Leadsom and urged her to stand down.
Iain Duncan Smith, the ex-Work and Pensions Secretary, said other Tory MPs must ‘examine their conscience’.
He added: ‘This is no way to treat colleagues. They should be putting the country first, not their personal ambitions.’
The junior energy minister had faced a wave of criticism over comments she made in an interview with The Times when she appeared to suggest that the fact she was a mother gave her the edge as a future PM over the childless Mrs May.
She also faced a string of questions over the accuracy of her City CV and demands that she release her tax returns.
Michael Gove was humbled in the second round of voting in the Tory contest, attracting the support of just 46 MPs – fewer than he managed in the first round.
One MP said it also brought a ‘brutal end’ to the reign of the Notting Hill Tories, who have run the Conservative Party since David Cameron became leader in 2005.
Mr Gove’s poor showing reflected Tory anger over his betrayal of Mr Johnson, whose campaign he torpedoed just hours before it was due to be launched. Allies of the former London mayor made no attempt to disguise their satisfaction at Mr Gove’s downfall. In a message on Twitter, which was later deleted, Mr Johnson’s sister Rachel said: ‘Gove won’t tear us apart again.’
One ally of the former mayor said: ‘Gove offered the party and the country vaulting ambition, craven disloyalty and treachery. Today his arrogance was repaid in full – with failure and total humiliation.’
Ben Wallace, who managed Mr Johnson’s campaign until it was cut short by Mr Gove, issued a brutal assessment of his character this week, saying: ‘Michael seems to have an emotional need to gossip, particularly when drink is taken, as it all too often seemed to be.’
Boris Johnson (pictured arriving in Downing Street, left) has been appointed Britain's new Foreign Secretary in a shock development tonight, as Theresa May started to build her new Cabinet. Amber Rudd (pictured in Downing Street, right) was appointed the new Home Secretary, a job made vacant after Mrs May left the department after six years in charge
Theresa May named Philip Hammond (right) as her new Chancellor and sacked George Osborne (pictured left) in a historic evening in Westminster less than two hours after she was officially sworn in as the UK's second female Prime Minister
Dr Liam Fox returned to the Cabinet tonight as Theresa May appointed him to the new post of Secretary of State for International Trade - a key role following Britian's vote to leave the European Union. Meanwhile Michael Fallon was re-appointed as Defence Secretary
Junior ministers who have worked with Mrs May like James Brokenshire could also see an elevation.
The traditional spectacle of seeing MPs summoned to Downing Street for hiring and firing discussions with the Prime Minister will continue on Thursday amid speculation that Mrs May could reorganise government departments.
Junior ministerial appointments will then follow as Mrs May sets about creating a government driven not by the interests of 'the privileged few' but those of voters struggling with the pressures of modern life.
'I know you are working around the clock, I know you are doing your best and I know that sometimes life can be a struggle,' she told voters in a speech at Downing Street.
'The government I lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few but by yours. We will do everything we can to give you more control over your lives.'
Boris Johnson was last night appointed Britain's new Foreign Secretary in a shock development as Mrs May started to build her new Cabinet.
She named Philip Hammond as her new Chancellor and sacked George Osborne in a historic evening in Westminster less than two hours after she was officially sworn in as the UK's second female Prime Minister.
Amber Rudd was appointed the new Home Secretary, moving on from the Energy and Climate Change Department, while Michael Fallon will stay as Defence Secretary.
Mr Hammond moves to the Treasury after serving as Foreign Secretary for more than two years.
Ms Rudd is expected to be appointed the new Home Secretary - a vacant position after Mrs May left the department to become Prime Minister.
Mr Osborne was sacked by Mrs May, bringing an abrupt end to his six years in charge of the Treasury.
There were also reports that all of David Cameron's political advisors had left Downing Street - a sign Mrs May is determined to break with the past.
Justine Greening, the international development secretary, was originally among those expected to be in line for prominent positions. She was one of the first Cabinet ministers to declare for Mrs May and was thought to be heading to health or education.
However, both she and Chris Grayling - also tipped for a top role - were last night rumoured to have missed out.
Employment minister Priti Patel is on course to be bumped up to a full Cabinet job, while Karen Bradley, who worked for Mrs May at the Home Office, was also in with a chance of earning a promotion.
Mrs May spent much of yesterday locked in talks with senior civil servants and her advisers.
Those joining the Cabinet are set to be unveiled this morning.
Source: Dailymail
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