Liz Truss’s hopes of uniting her party after a fractious leadership contest were tonight at risk after she conducted a brutal cabinet clearout of supporters of rival Rishi Sunak in her first hours as prime minister.
The new PM constructed a top team of close allies, including Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor and James Cleverly as foreign secretary, with hardline right-winger Suella Braverman – a supporter of withdrawal from the European Court of Human Rights – becoming home secretary and Therese Coffey appointed the UK’s first female deputy prime minister as well as taking the health brief.
