Desperate Rishi Sunak left his hapless predecessor’s top ministers in post as he tried to keep his warring party on side on his first day as Prime Minister.
In a speech outside No10 after his visit to the Palace to see the King, Mr Sunak promised: “This government will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level.”
But within hours, he had brought back Suella Braverman as Home Secretary, a politician who just six days before had been sacked by then-Prime Minister Liz Truss for a security breach thought to have broken the ministerial code.
As multi-millionaire Mr Sunak announced his reshuffle, research laid bare the cost of living bombshell hammering families.
Analysts who collected more than a million prices from supermarket websites found prices for some of the cheapest food items had risen by almost two-thirds over the past year.
Twelve years of Tory rule have driven the nation to the brink, millions struggling in the cost of living crisis as inflation tops 10%, mortgage and energy bills rocket and pay stagnates.
But Jeremy Hunt, who stays as Chancellor, is set to bring back austerity in his Halloween Budget on Monday, when he is expected to target benefits and pensions and cut public services, including health and education.
And as the climate emergency triggers nationwide protests against fossil fuel extraction, Therese Coffey, who last week was accused of trying to stop Tory MPs voting to reinstate a ban on fracking, is now Environment Secretary.
Addressing the nation from outside No10, former banker Mr Sunak admitted the country faced a “profound economic crisis”. He warned: “This will mean difficult decisions to come.”
Following Mr Sunak’s appointment, Sterling rallied to its highest levels since before Ms Truss’s disastrous September 23 mini-Budget.
The pound climbed 1.9% to 1.149 against the US dollar, having plunged to an all-time low of 1.032 in the aftermath of Ms Truss’s tax-slashing financial statement.
Before leaving Downing Street after just 49 days in office, Ms Truss hosted her final Cabinet meeting at 9am before being applauded out of No10 by dutiful aides.
At 10.15am, she emerged from the famous black door to deliver a defiant statement, watched by her husband Hugh O’Leary and teenage daughters, Frances and Liberty,
The unrepentant leader, whose economic plans unleashed turmoil on financial markets and hiked mortgage repayments, said: “I’m more convinced than ever that we need to be bold and confront the challenges that we face.”
Our shortest-serving PM said her Government had “acted urgently and decisively”.
And, quoting the Roman philosopher Seneca, she said: “It’s not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it’s because we do not dare that they are difficult.”
Seven weeks to the day she was appointed by the Queen in the monarch’s final duty before her death two days later, Ms Truss was driven to Buckingham Palace to resign to King Charles.
As she departed the Palace, Hindu Mr Sunak, 42, set off to meet the King and become Britain’s first non-white PM and the youngest for 200 years. Addressing the cameras outside No10 later, he tore into Ms Truss’s record.
He said: “Some mistakes were made, not born of ill-will or bad intention – quite the opposite, in fact – but mistakes, nonetheless. I have been elected as leader of my party and your Prime Minister, in part, to fix them.”
Vowing to place “economic stability and confidence at the heart of this Government’s agenda”, he warned: “The aftermath of Covid still lingers. Putin’s war in Ukraine has destabilised energy markets and supply chains the world over.”
He then headed to Parliament to begin a cull of Cabinet ministers, all of whom were allowed to resign after being told their services were no longer needed.
His hit list included Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis, Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, Work and Pensions Secretary Chloe Smith, Environment Secretary Ranil Jayawardena, and Welsh Secretary Sir Robert Buckland.
Also out are Levelling-up Secretary Simon Clarke, Education Secretary Kit Malthouse, Development Minister Vicky Ford, Cabinet Office Minister Alok Sharma, Tory chairman Sir Jake Berry and the Chief Whip Wendy Morton.
The cull complete, Mr Sunak spent the afternoon and evening handing out Cabinet jobs.
Attempting to bring the Tories back together after a bruising summer that has left them 30 points behind Labour in some polls, he opted to retain ministers loyal to Boris Johnson who were appointed by Ms Truss.
James Cleverly stays as Foreign Secretary and Ben Wallace hangs on as Defence Secretary and Grant Shapps, who spent six days as Home Secretary, was switched to Business. Cabinet veteran Michael Gove returns as Levelling Up Secretary almost three-and-a-half months after being fired by Boris Johnson. Sir Gavin Williamson – sacked twice from previous jobs – is now Minister without Portfolio.
No10 confirmed a sensational return for Ms Braverman as Home Secretary less than a week after she was forced to resign. She was accused of breaching the ministerial code by sending a confidential government document to an MP from her personal email using a private phone.
Her political revival was seen as a reward for backing Mr Sunak’s leadership on Sunday.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “Just a few hours into the job and Rishi Sunak is already putting party before country.”
Dominic Raab was also handed back his old roles of Deputy PM, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor. He was demoted as Foreign Secretary last year after holidaying in Crete while the Taliban rampaged across Afghanistan, retaking the capital Kabul.
Nadhim Zahawi, who supported Mr Johnson’s leadership tilt in a newspaper article on Sunday night – a minute before the former PM quit the contest – becomes party chairman.
Mr Sunak’s leadership rival Penny Mordaunt hoped to become Foreign Secretary, but remains Commons Leader.
A No10 source said: “This Cabinet brings the talents of the party together.”
At an event in Washington marking the beginning of the Hindu festival of Diwali, US President Joe Biden welcomed Mr Sunak as the new PM, but mispronounced his name as “Rashee Sanook”.
