Braverman out, Cameron in: Rishi Sunak's 'shock' reshuffle

The sacking of Suella Braverman from her role as home secretary has triggered a major cabinet reshuffle by Rishi Sunak.

Braverman was removed from government following a weekend of speculation about her political future. Many No. 10 watchers had predicted that the prime minister would "axe the home secretary imminently", said the Financial Times (FT) – a move confirmed by Downing Street shortly before 9am this morning. 

Shortly afterwards, James Cleverly, the former foreign secretary, was announced as Braverman's replacement.

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And in a "shock" return to government, said Politico, David Cameron will be Britain's new foreign secretary, marking "the first post-war example of a former prime minister serving in a successor’s cabinet since the 1970s", when Conservative Alec Douglas-Home was named foreign secretary in Ted Heath’s government. 

As the reshuffle continued, Therese Coffey resigned from her post as environment secretary, saying it was the "right time to step back from government". Steve Barclay will take over the role, while Tory party rising star Victoria Atkins replaces Barclay as health secretary. 

Laura Trott, from the 2019 intake of Conservative MPs, was made chief secretary to the Treasury, and Richard Holden is the new party chair, replacing Greg Hands.

Today's sacking of Braverman marks the second time that she has lost her job as home secretary, after she resigned from Liz Truss's government for breaking the ministerial code. Braverman was reappointed less than a week later when Sunak took over as PM. 

But the relationship between No. 10 and and the Home Office had grown increasingly acrimonious after Braverman "infuriated" Sunak by writing an article accusing the police of bias in policing demonstrations, said the FT. In an unusual admission, Sunak's spokesperson said the controversial article was "not cleared" by No. 10 before being published in The Times last week.

Sunak came under further pressure after "violent clashes between police and right-wing groups erupted on the streets'' on Armistice Day, the paper added.

Some believe Braverman was "actively trying to get sacked", said Katy Balls in The Guardian. Now, she is free to position herself "for the post-defeat leadership contest as a change candidate untainted by government decisions".