Reshuffle Live: Truss becomes Foreign Secretary after Raab is moved and Williamson sacked
Boris Johnson’s reshuffle is continuing this afternoon with Liz Truss being appointed Foreign Secretary after incumbent Dominic Raab was moved.
Raab has been moved to the justice department, whilst also being formally appointed as Deputy Prime Minister.
Other reshuffle casualties include embattled Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland and
Party chairman Amanda Milling has also moved on.
Williamson tweeted this afternoon that he would look forward to “continuing to support” the Prime Minister despite his demotion to the backbenches.
His sacking had been expected after a series of gaffes since being appointed in 2019, notably a botched exam results algorithm and recently mixing up black sports stars Marcus Rashford and Maro Itoje.
Buckland had been an anticipated departure, making space for younger, fresher blood despite few complaints around his performance.
Robert Jenrick has been another lightning rod for criticism in recent years after allegations the Housing Secretary was too close to major developers.
Speculation had been mounting for days in Westminster that the Prime Minister was considering bringing fresh blood into the Cabinet.
And a No.10 source confirmed earlier today that the PM will mix up his ministerial team this afternoon with a “focus on uniting and levelling up the whole country.”
There have also been whispers about Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab’s position, who after a pandemic in which he was considered to have performed well failed to come back from a Crete holiday in a timely fashion during Britain’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.
There are reports he himself felt aggrieved by the briefings against him after the Kabul pull-out.
Those on the up could include Kit Malthouse, a long-time Johnson supporter, and Victoria Atkins, one of the Conservative party’s most impressive junior ministers.
This is a developing story and will be updated.