Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Boris Johnson ‘takes back control’ of Cabinet in brutal reshuffle

Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Prime Minister Boris Johnson

With a series brutal sackings and forced resignations, Boris Johnson succeeded in “taking back control” of his cabinet.

In a day of high drama at Westminster, Sajid Javid lost his job at the Treasury and Julian Smith, who recently reestablished power-sharing at Stormont, was axed from the Northern Ireland office.

Mr Javid, who was in the midst of preparing the UK Government’s March 11 Budget, said he was left with “no other option” but to quit after the prime minister ordered him to sack all his special advisers and aides and to defer to Downing Street for advice.

The former chancellor said that he did not believe that “any self-respecting minister” would accept the demands in comments that will also be seen as a clear swipe at his successor Rishi Sunak.

Sajid Javid arriving in Downing Street

Speaking outside his home this afternoon, Mr Javid added: “It’s been a huge honour to serve as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and whilst I was very pleased that the prime minister wanted to reappoint me, I was unable to accept the conditions that he had attached.

“I felt I was left with no option other than to resign.”

Before the explosive meeting with Mr Johnson, Mr Javid had walked smiling into Number 10 in a sign that he expected to remain in place ahead of the Budget.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said that preparations for the Budget would continue under the new Chancellor.

“Extensive preparations have already been carried out for the Budget and they will continue at pace,” the spokesman said.

Newly installed Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak

Labour’s John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said Mr Javid’s resignation showed that Mr Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings had “clearly won the battle to take absolute control of the Treasury and install his stooge as chancellor”.

“This must be a historical record, with the government in crisis after just over two months in power,” he added.


AS IT HAPPENED: Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle


SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford agreed, saying: “Rather than prioritising the interests of people across the country, Boris Johnson is embroiled in an ego battle between his de-facto deputy Dominic Cummings and his former Cabinet ministers.”

There have been bad relations between No 10 and No 11 since Mr Cummings fired Mr Javid’s press secretary in August without consulting him.

In happier times, Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid

Since then, there have been rows between No 10 and Mr Javid’s team over the Conservatives’ economic policy at the election and the contents of the budget.

Until Mr Javid’s exit, the most surprising move by the prime minister had been the sacking of Mr Smith just weeks after brokering the deal which restored the power-sharing administration in Stormont.


ANALYSIS: Boris Johnson’s power play left Chancellor with an offer he could only refuse


Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Mr Smith was “one of Britain’s finest politicians of our time”.

Speculation about Mr Smith’s position centred on the terms of the Stormont deal, amid Tory concerns it could pave the way for prosecutions of British soldiers.

But allies of the axed minister said it was “absolute crap” to suggest that Mr Johnson and Number 10 had not been kept informed of the process and details of the deal.

Other senior ministers to face the chop were business secretary Andrea Leadsom, environment secretary Theresa Villiers and attorney general Geoffrey Cox.