Michael Gove sacked in cabinet reshuffle

Among those who kept their jobs were the Scottish Secretary David Mundell, Scotland only Conservative MP, and the controversial Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Ms Villiers announced she was resigning from the Government after Mrs May told her she was being moved from the post she had held for nearly four years and offered her a job which was “not one which I felt I could take on”.

It was disclosed last week that the married father-of-two had exchanged a number of sexts with a woman in the run-up to the European Union referendum.

Critics of Mr Cameron often labelled his government “elitist” and Mrs May looks to have moved to end those calls by introducing a number of politicians who were not educated at Oxford or Cambridge universities.

In a statement, Mr Crabb said: “Over the last two years I have had the huge privilege to serve in the Cabinet”.

He was replaced by Damian Green, a key supporter of Mrs May and a former immigration minister.

“The prime minister explained that we would need some time to prepare for these negotiations and spoke of her hope that these could be conducted in a constructive and positive spirit”, the spokesman added.

Theresa May has confirmed her cabinet less than a day after she took office.

His decision and Mrs May’s sackings leave significant numbers of the Conservatives’ most senior figures on its backbenches.

That leaves the current Chancellor, Mr George Osborne, who campaigned hard for Britain to stay in the EU.

The pair frequently clashed over extremism and in 2014 the row boiled over when sources close to Mr Gove briefed a story over the alleged Birmingham “Trojan Horse” schools scandal, accusing the Home Office of failing to “drain the swamp” of extremism.

May, who took power Wednesday after David Cameron formally stepped aside, continued to make big changes after her early – and most surprising – decision to appoint Boris Johnson, the former London mayor, as foreign secretary.

“It’s been an enormous privilege to serve for the last six years”, Gove said on Twitter.

Greg Clark was appointed to the new role of Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, while his old role at the head of the Department for Communities and Local Government went to former business secretary Sajid Javid, in an effective job-swap.

Nicky Morgan, who signed the Justice Secretary’s nomination papers as would-be Tory leader, was axed as Education Secretary and Mr Gove’s fellow Brexit-backer John Whittingdale was dismissed as Culture Secretary. Like Mr Gove, she will combine the post with serving as Lord Chancellor.

But The Guardian said he could replace Mrs May as home secretary or become deputy prime minister. “I wish my successor every success & will continue to support creative industries”.

The new Prime Minister showed a ruthless streak as she unflinchingly purged her Cabinet of heavyweight figures deemed to be risky rivals, ineffective or merely surplus to requirements.