Tory peer Zac Goldsmith has been sacked as Environment Minister by the new Prime Minister Liz Truss as part of her ongoing overhaul of government.
The dismissal comes despite Downing Street saying the reshuffle had been stopped, with politics largely ground to a halt during the period of national mourning following the Queen's death.
According to The Guardian, Mr Goldsmith, a close ally of the former prime minister Boris Johnson, said he was "very sad" to be leaving the post.
"We have so much more to do to turn the tide here," he wrote in a letter to staff at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
"The UK is, after all, one of the world's most nature-depleted countries. But if Defra continues to get the backing you need and deserve across government, you can and you will turn the tide."
Mr Goldsmith, who lost his Richmond seat to the Liberal Democrats before being made a life peer, will, however, retain his second role as a minister at the Foreign Office.
His responsibilities at the department include the Pacific and international environment.
During the Tory leadership contest Mr Goldsmith warned both Ms Truss and her rival Rishi Sunak that if they turned their backs on environmental issues, "they not only will be punished by the electorate, they absolutely must be punished by the electorate".
He added: "It is your duty and our duty, and everyone else's duty, to punish any leader of any leader of any credible party that does not take these issues seriously because they simply do not merit the privilege of government".
No 10 declined to comment on Mr Goldsmith's position in government due to the national mourning period following the death of the Queen.
But Mr Goldsmith's brother, Ben, posted on social media: "During his time at Defra my brother Zac Goldsmith has helped to bring about some tremendous leaps forward on animal welfare and nature restoration policy".
After becoming prime minister last week Ms Truss embarked on her first reshuffle, installing loyalists in key positions and sacking a host of senior figures who had backed Mr Sunak.
They included the former deputy prime minister Dominic Raab, who branded her plans for the economy "electoral suicide" during the leadership contest.
