Boris wields axe in brutal reshuff le ‘to secure second term’
Four senior ministers go and Raab is demoted
BORIS Johnson yesterday stamped his authority on the Cabinet with a brutal reshuffle designed to secure him a second term in power.
In a two-hour cull, he sacked four top ministers and handed a humiliating demotion to Dominic Raab.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick and Tory party chairman Amanda Milling were all sent to the back benches.
Miss Milling’s successor Oliver Dowden last night told activists to start preparing for an election possibly only two years off.
The removal of Mr Williamson follows a chorus of criticism over last year’s exams fiasco, which saw him lose the confidence of parents, teachers and Conservative MPs.
Foreign Secretary Mr Raab, who has been savaged for his handling of the crisis in Afghanistan, was demoted to Justice Secretary.
But, following a tense halfhour stand-off with Mr Johnson in his Commons office, he was also handed the consolation title of Deputy Prime Minister, allowing government sources to claim it was a ‘promotion’. He was replaced by Liz Truss in a reshuffle that saw a number of women land senior roles.
Outspoken health minister Nadine Dorries was promoted to the Cabinet as Culture Secretary. She will have responsibility for dealings with the BBC, having previously described the corporation as a ‘biased Left-wing organisation’ that does not deserve the licence fee.
In another eye-catching appointment, Nadhim Zahawi was made Education Secretary after overseeing the Covid vaccine programme. The appointment caps a remarkable rise for a man who did not speak English when he arrived in the UK from Iraq aged nine.
Downing Street denied Mr Johnson’s wife Carrie played a role, after former top aide Dominic Cummings dubbed it the ‘Carrie reshuffle’.
Friends last night acknowledged that Mr Raab was ‘disappointed and bruised’ by the demotion. He had been facing calls to quit since the Daily Mail revealed last month that he refused to interrupt his holiday to speak to his Afghan counterpart and ask for help in evacuating UK allies.
A Government source insisted the move was not prompted by Mr Raab’s handling of the Afghan crisis and was not a demotion. The source said the PM had first decided to move Mr Raab to justice before the summer, describing the former international lawyer as a ‘round peg in a round hole’ for the job.
‘The PM believes he is a massive asset and he will now be doing a critical role,’ the source said. ‘He’s been made Deputy Prime Minister and will stand in for the PM at PMQs next week – it is total rubbish to describe it as a demotion.’