Johnson brings Brexit gang back together in new Cabinet

From his top Cabinet ministers down to his communications staff, Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson has surrounded himself with controversial figures who helped him win the 2016 Brexit vote.

His decision to get the “Vote Leave” campaign team back together emphasises how determined he is to take Britain out of the European Union on October 31, even without an agreement with Brussels.

But the reshuffle caused alarm among MPs who oppose his “no deal” stance, while some new appointments sparked speculation he is gearing up for an election if Parliament tries to stop him.

Johnson took over from Theresa May at Downing Street on Wednesday, and within minutes had sacked or forced out around a

dozen ministers, while a handful more resigned before they were pushed.

His first appointment was Dominic Cummings, a highly effective but combative back-room operator who was Vote Leave’s campaign director and is now a top adviser.

Johnson kept on Michael Gove, who like the new premier is a key figurehead of the 2016 campaign, but moved him from the environment ministry to a role coordinating “no deal” planning. Other Vote Leave stars such as Priti Patel, Andrea Leadsom, Dominic Raab and Theresa Villiers – some of whom quit May’s Cabinet in protest at her Brexit plan – have returned to senior jobs.

CampaignchiefexecutiveMatthewElliott, who previously founded the low tax lobbying group the Taxpayers Alliance, is also reported to be an adviser to the new Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid. Others were appalled, however. Leading eurosceptic MP Jacob ReesMogg,whowasappointedthegovernment’s minister in the House of Commons, dismissed talk of a takeover.

“To characterise it as a Vote Leave coup is a mistake and is forgetting that the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the international trade secretary were both remainers,” he told ITV news.

Javid, a former banker, and new trade secretary Liz Truss, however, have since converted to the Brexit cause.