Ambitious Hunt gets the Foreign Office... could his next stop be No10?

JEREMY Hunt was installed as Foreign Secretary last night as Theresa May moved to steady the ship following Boris Johnson’s resignation.

Mr Hunt, considered one the safest pairs of hands in Westminster, was handed the promotion just six hours after Mr Johnson quit, in what appeared to be a planned mini reshuffle.

The move catapults Mr Hunt into a prime position to one day realise his ambition of becoming Prime Minister. It comes just weeks after he demonstrated his status as one of the most powerful ministers in Government by securing a £ 20 billion funding increase for the National Health Service.

It also follows his achievement last month in becoming the longest-serving Health Secretary in history.

Last night’s reshuffle appeared to confirm that No 10 was braced for the possible resignations of both Brexit Secretary David Davis and Mr Johnson.

Mr Hunt was replaced at the Department of Health by Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, who in turn was replaced by Attorney General Jeremy Wright. Millionaire barrister Geoffrey Cox was last night appointed as Attorney General.

Asked last night if the Government would survive, Mr Hunt told Sky News: ‘Absolutely, and I want to start by thanking my predecessor Boris Johnson, who has been one of the great driving forces of British politics and as Foreign Secretary orchestrated an incredibly important response to the attack

‘Time of massive importance’

on the Skripals among a lot of other very, very important work.

‘My principal job at a time of massive importance for our country is to stand four-square behind the Prime Minister so that we can get through an agreement with the European Union based on what was agreed by the Cabinet last week at Chequers.’

His promotion means all the jobs at the top of government are filled by ministers who backed Remain at the 2016 referendum. But unlike Chancellor Philip Hammond, Mr Hunt has positioned himself as a convert to Brexit. In an interview last year, Mr Hunt said he would now vote for Brexit, saying the ‘arrogance’ of the European Commission towards the negotiations had changed his mind.

‘Frankly, the way the EU Commission has behaved since the referendum has been very disappointing,’ he said. ‘It’s that arrogance that we’ve seen. Every time we make really generous and openhearted offers, it’s not enough. It’s not about soft or hard Brexit now, it’s about do we want a friendship going forward or a messy divorce.’

Mr Hunt was also one of a handful of ministers last autumn urging the Chancellor to release more cash to prepare the UK for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit. Last month he hit out at warnings from French-based aerospace giant Airbus about Brexit, describing them as ‘completely inappropriate’.

Mr Hunt had previously said Health Secretary was the only job he wanted in government. Last year he refused a move to Business Secretary and persuaded Mrs May to let him manage social care. But, with extra funding for the NHS secured, and Mrs May needing of a replacement for Mr Johnson, he was urged to change his mind.

He said last night that it was a ‘ massive wrench’ to leave the health brief after almost six years, adding: ‘I know some staff haven’t found me the easiest Health Secretary but the NHS has become my passion and it really was the greatest privilege of my life.’

Mr Hunt is popular with Tory MPs, and has pursued his leadership ambitions discreetly. Westminster sources pointed out how Margaret Thatcher made John Major Foreign Secretary shortly before she was ousted – clearing the way for him to replace her.

But campaigners pushing the Government to deliver reforms to solve the social care crisis will be dismayed by Mr Hunt’s elevation. He had been due to publish proposals this month, but they were delayed until the autumn but are almost certain to be set back again while Mr Hancock examines them.

The son of Admiral Sir Nicholas Hunt, Mr Hunt was educated at prestigious Charterhouse school. He went on to read philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford, where he was a contemporary of David Cameron and Mr Johnson.

He later set up the educational publishing firm Hotcourses, which has made him one of the wealthiest members of the Cabinet.