Staff applaud as Britain’s new Prime Minister Theresa May, and her husband Philip, walk into 10 Downing Street after May had met Queen Elizabeth in Buckingham Palace, in central London, Britain July 13, 2016.
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The former justice secretary joins backbenches in a dramatic reshaping of the Cabinet team, which also saw Mr Cameron’s education secretary Nicky Morgan, culture secretary John Whittingdale, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Letwin leave the Government.
Michael Fallon, Jeremy Hunt, David Mundell and Alun Cairns are the only secretaries of state to stay in charge of their departments, while Jeremy Wright will continue to attend Cabinet as Attorney General.
Speaking ahead of the visit, the Prime Minister said: “I believe with all my heart in the United Kingdom – the precious bond between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman said: “This is a bold Cabinet. What you have seen with the appointments today is that commitment to putting social reform at the heart of her Government”.
She is under pressure from European Union leaders to quickly begin the formal exit process, but she has yet to reveal her timetable.
The Whitehall shake-up faced criticism as Mrs May was accused of downgrading the importance of climate change by abolishing the Department for Energy and Climate Change.
Liz Truss is justice secretary, Justine Greening takes education and Tory leadership contender Andrea Leadsom has been promoted to environment secretary.
Her decision to give leading Eurosceptics key foreign affairs roles delighted Brexit campaigners.
While Osborne’s exit came as less of a surprise, being a close Cameron aide, Johnson’s appointment as foreign secretary was more unexpected.
However Tory sources pointed to the elevation of socially liberal and moderate Tories such as Amber Rudd, who is now home secretary, and Damian Green, who is now work and pensions secretary, as evidence that May was not taking a sharp turn to the right with her new cabinet.
Johnson, who has often cycled to work, left his north London home in a ministerial vehicle on Thursday morning for his first day at the Foreign Office without commenting to awaiting reporters, The Telegraph said.
Sacked ministers put a fearless face on their departures in public statements. And we are only into day one of a new government that will probably take two more days at least to get all the jobs in government filled.
It sounds as though Theresa May’s meeting with George Osborne was one of the shorter ones ever known in this sort of setting.
The Conservatives’ only MP north of the border, David Mundell, retained his position as Scotland secretary.
Critics of Mr Cameron often labelled his government “elitist” and Mrs May looks to have moved to end those calls by introducing a number of politicians who were not educated at Oxford or Cambridge universities.
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The final Government appointment until Friday was Ben Gummer being made Cabinet Office Minister.
