“On all the phone calls, the Prime Minister emphasised her commitment to delivering the will of the British people to leave the EU. Justice Secretary Michael Gove, who had challenged May in the Conservative Party leadership race, was among the first sackings announced today. While Michael Fallon marked the only status quo Cabinet move by retaining the defence secretary’s job, the biggest surprise came in former London mayor Boris Johnson, who was appointed the new foreign secretary. The Prime Minister explained that we would need some time to prepare for these negotiations and spoke of her hope that these could be conducted in a constructive and positive spirit,” a Downing Street spokesperson said. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, Culture Secretary John Whittingdale and Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Letwin were other aides of former prime minister David Cameron dropped from the frontline and pushed to the party’s backbenches.

Source: The Hindu July 14, 2016 10:43 UTC