Until now a back-bencher, the promotion will cascade Johnson onto the world stage.
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Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Phillips, reporting from London, said that May was disadvantaged because she did not have much time to form her cabinet.
In another key appointment, May named former foreign minister Philip Hammond as her new finance minister, with the job of calming fears over the economic fall-out of leaving Britain’s biggest market.
David Davis has been put in charge of exit negotiations as new Brexit minister, while Liam Fox has responsibility for negotiating new trade agreements outside the bloc.
Former Energy Secretary Amber Rudd has been appointed to fill up Theresa May’s former post as Home Secretary whilst Michael Fallon will retain his position as Defence Secretary.
The new Prime Minister took a series of phone calls yesterday evening, speaking to German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president Francois Hollande, and Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
The United States congratulated May and said it was confident in her ability to steer Britain through the Brexit negotiations.
May was on the losing side of the Brexit referendum, backing Cameron’s call for Britain to remain in the European Union, but now finds herself having to implement the country’s withdrawal.
“Clearly we now have a massive opportunity to play a new part in Europe to make a great success of our new relationship with Europe and the World”.
In her first address to the nation, May instantly distanced herself from former Prime Minister David Cameron’s government by declaring she would not “entrench the advantages of the fortunate few”, The Telegraph said.
He resigned after Britain’s narrow vote in the referendum of June 23 to leave the EU.
Buckingham Palace says Queen Elizabeth II has accepted the resignation of David Cameron as British prime minister. We here in Barbados know only too well the negative impact these downgrades from credit rating agencies can have and again we wish this new Government all the best in addressing the challenges.
But the Prime Minister has yet to receive any contact from the U.S., which is gearing up for a Presidential election as Barack Obama prepares to leave the White House.
May has indicated however that she will not be rushed into triggering the formal procedure for Brexit. Cameron said: “I want to thank my children, Nancy, Elwen and Florence, for whom Downing Street has been a lovely home over these last six years”.
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Earlier, at Prime Minister’s Questions – a weekly session, Cameron said May was “a brilliant negotiator”.
