Boris Johnson has taken the axe to his Cabinet in his first reshuffle since the general election.
Dogged by questions over who funded his £15k Caribbean holiday, the Prime Minister attempted to seize the news agenda by booting out a string of ministers, many of them women.
Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith got the chop weeks after he restored power-sharing in Stormont.
Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers also lost her job just weeks after clinging onto her seat at the election.
Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom,Attorney General Geoffrey Cox and Housing Minister Esther McVey all also lost their jobs – leaving the Tories with their 10th Housing Minister in 10 years.
Below is the full list of ministers sacked, backed and cracked (resigned – yes, we’re sorry) so far. Check back to this page as the day progresses.
We’ll also be updating profiles of the key figures as they come.
Summary: Cabinet reshuffle
SACKED
- Julian Smith, Northern Ireland Secretary
- Andrea Leadsom, Business Secretary
- Theresa Villiers, Environment Secretary
- Geoffrey Cox, Attorney General
STAYING PUT
-
Sajid Javid, Chancellor
-
Priti Patel, Home Secretary
-
Dominic Raab, Foreign Secretary
Summary: Other ministers
SACKED
- Esther McVey, Housing Minister
- Chris Skidmore, Universities Minister
- Nus Ghani, Transport Minister
- George Freeman, Transport Minister
SACKED: Key figures
Esther McVey
SACKED as Housing Minister
(Image: Peter Summers)
The Tories have now churned through TEN Housing Ministers in less than 10 years after Esther McVey was sacked in the Cabinet reshuffle.
Ms McVey was appointed Housing Secretary only seven months ago after she quit as Work and Pensions Secretary – claiming a £17,000 payoff in the process.
She was given the job by Boris Johnson after being knocked out of the 2019 Tory leadership race in last place.
The MP – reviled for defending the hated Bedroom Tax – was Employment Minister under welfare-slashing Tory Iain Duncan Smith before losing her seat in 2015. She then returned as Work and Pensions Secretary in January 2018 having won George Osborne’s safe seat of Tatton.
As welfare chief she admitted “some people will be worse off” under six-in-one benefit Universal Credit. She admitted “failings” in the policy but boasted she brought more money in – and refused to apologise.
Andrea Leadsom
SACKED as Business Secretary
(Image: Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
Andrea Leadsom appeared to deliver a veiled barb as she was sacked in Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle.
The outgoing Business Secretary said she would return to the backbenches and work to ensure “everyone is treated with dignity and respect.”
It was a reference to her previous job as Commons Leader from 2017, where she campaigned to reform Parliament’s procedures on bullying and harassment and clashed with Speaker John Bercow.
She – and her supporters – believed she did well in making it easier for staff to speak out. But she was met with a shrug after moving to the Business Department last July. And she stood up to Boris Johnson in Cabinet meetings – a trait not beloved of the new regime.
Ms Leadsom stood against Theresa May for the Tory leadership in 2017 but had to quit the race after a furore over her ill-judged remarks about motherhood.
Julian Smith
SACKED as Northern Ireland Secretary
(Image: Charles McQuillan)
Boris Johnson sacked his Northern Ireland Secretary just weeks after he achieved a massive breakthrough in getting Stormont back up and running.
The former Chief Whip under Theresa May had been regarded by many as a success despite his icy manner and controversial reign in the whip’s office, where he failed miserably to unite the party over Brexit.
He tweeted: “Serving the people of Northern Ireland has been the biggest privilege.
“I am extremely grateful to @BorisJohnson for giving me the chance to serve this amazing part of our country. The warmth & support from people across NI has been incredible. Thank you so much.”
Geoffrey Cox
SACKED as Attorney General
The country’s top lawyer, known as ‘Tory Gandalf’ because of his luxurious, booming voice, was spotted emerging from the PM’s Commons Office “looking glum” after he was sacked.
Formerly the Commons’ highest paid MP following a lengthy career as a barrister and QC, there have been reports Mr Johnson was to return Mr Cox to the backbenches because he believes he’s not a “team player”.
But it was rumoured he could be offered the job of leading Mr Johnson’s ‘revenge’ plot against judges, laying out reforms to the process of judicial review after the Supreme Court embarrassed the PM over Brexit.
The release of Geoffrey Cox’s legal opinions on Brexit was a thorn in the side of both Theresa May and Mr Johnson as they struggled to secure Britain’s departure from the EU.
While he was a backbencher, Mr Cox hit headlines after a string of expenses controversies. He was forced to apologise after neglecting to declare £400,000 of outside earnings as a QC. He blamed a member of staff for failing to register hundreds of hours of work on top of his MP’s salary.
And he sparked fury while he was the highest paid MP for submitting an unsuccessful expenses claim for 49p to cover a pint of milk.
He later successfully claimed £95 for a fridge in which to keep his milk.
Theresa Villiers
SACKED as Environment Secretary
(Image: Peter Summers)
Theresa Villiers was one of six diehard Brexiteer Cabinet ministers to openly campaign for Brexit before the 2016 referendum.
But it seems her credentials weren’t enough for Boris Johnson – who wants the environment to be a key campaign issue going forward, and clearly felt he couldn’t rely Ms Villiers.
She loses her job just weeks after clinging on to her seat despite a challenge from Labour in the general election. She previously had a majority of only 353 in Chipping Barnet. But despite hard campaigning from Labour she strengthened it into 1,212.
