Theresa May cabinet reshuffle as it happened: Gove, Morgan, Whittingdale and Letwin sacked

And that concludes IBTimes UK's live coverage of Prime Minister Theresa May's appointment of her first cabinet.

For the latest news on the UK's cabinet reshuffle visit IBTimes UK.

Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, said she will meet the UK's new Prime Minister, Theresa May, in Edinburgh on Friday morning.

In the final appointment of the day, Ben Gummer, formerly a junior health minister, is the new Minister for the Cabinet Office.

A Downing Street spokesperson said that several junior posts remain to be filled or shuffled, but no more appointments will be made today.

May's spokeswoman said the appointments had resulted in a "bold" cabinet and "what we're seeing is the commitment of the prime minister to putting social reform at the heart of her government."

May has had a 15 minute telephone conversation with US President Barack Obama, the Prime Minister's spokeswoman said. The President congratulated May on becoming Prime Minister and May reaffirmed her commitment to be a key partner with the US. May also "underlined the point that the decision to leave the European Union means that".

The SNP's Westminster Leader, Angus Robertson, said May's reshuffle has resulted in "one of the most right-wing cabinets in the modern era".

He said in a stament: "From Boris Johnson as our foreign secretary – a man who will now be representing us on the world stage – to David Davis as Brexit minister and Liam Fox for trade, it will be Brexiteers who are taking forward UK foreign policy.

"We also have Jeremy Hunt being re-appointed as health secretary, despite the ongoing disputes with junior doctors, and Priti Patel as minister for international sevelopment, despite previously calling for the department to be abolished.

"The news that the department for energy and climate change is being merged with business, innovation and skills, is also particularly worrying given the current challenges facing the energy sector."

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has also criticised the decision to scrap the energy and climate change department.

Angus MacNeil MP, Chair of the Commons Energy and Climate Change Committee, has criticised May's decision to scrap the Department of Energy and Climate Change, which he said raises "urgent questions."

"The Government has announced that it will abolish the Department of Energy and Climate Change and transfer its functions to other Government Departments, notably the new Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The exact details remain unclear. My Committee's reports have recently identified serious concerns about reduced investor confidence in the UK energy sector. An historic agreement at COP21 in Paris last November still requires ratification, and the fifth carbon budget is still yet to be set in law. While Members of my Committee differed in their views on the European Union, the immediate impact of the vote to leave has been to amplify uncertainty at a time when major investment is needed to deliver affordable, clean and secure energy.

"In this context, I am astonished at the Prime Minister's decision to abolish DECC. DECC's disappearance raises urgent questions. To whom falls the central statutory obligation, contained in the Climate Change Act 2008, to reduce the UK's carbon emissions by 80% from their 1990 baseline? Which Department will take responsibility for the energy and climate aspects of negotiations to leave the EU? Who will champion decarbonisation in Cabinet? Who will drive innovation in the energy sector?

"Turning to my Committee and the crucial role we play in scrutinising the Government's energy and climate change policies, we are established under Standing Orders of the House of Commons. There will be no immediate change to our remit, operations or membership, which can only be done by order of the House. I am immensely proud of our work over the last year to hold the Government to account on achieving a balanced energy policy, setting the agenda on an innovative future energy system, and influencing the Government's long-term approach to climate targets. Over the coming weeks I will speak to colleagues to explore how we can ensure that effective Parliamentary scrutiny on the crucial issues of energy and climate change continues."

David Gauke has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The BBC reports that Jeremy Wright confirmed that he has kept his job as attorney general.

David Lidington MP has been appointed Leader of the House of Commons. He served as Europe minister under former prime minister David Cameron.

As expected, David Mundell retains his position as Secretary of State for Scotland, No 10 has confirmed. He holds the only Conservative seat in Scotland.

Chief whip Mark Harper MP announced that he is leaving government.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said that Britain leaving the EU does not mean Britain leaving Europe in one of his first statements in his new role.

International children's charity World Vision UK has called on new International Development Secretary Priti Patel to preserve Britain's commitment to spending 0.7 per cent of GDP on overseas aid. In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph three years ago Patel suggested DfID should be scrapped.

Rob Henderson, Public Affairs Officer for World Vision UK, said: "People question what impact a Whitehall department has on children's lives thousands of miles away. The answer is 'massive'. The UK punches above its weight - championing children abused by war, ending child marriage and restoring dignity to children in the world's toughest places. Our influence on the world stage makes this country a force to be reckoned with.

"Priti Patel must honour our progressive track record on a range of projects - like promoting peace through inter-faith work and halting the spread of Ebola. She must continue Britain's 0.7 per cent overseas aid promise, spending generously and wisely to give a brighter future for millions of children across world."

Former Labour leader Ed Milliband has criticised May's decision to scrap the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Conservative MP and former I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! contestant Nadine Dorries has praised May for promoting on the basis of talent rather than old school tie connections in a dig at Cameron. The former prime minister was criticised for promoting several fellow Old Etonians to government positions.

Alun Cairns has retained his role as Secretary of State for Wales

Former Home Office minister Karen Bradley has taken over from sacked John Whittingdale as Culture, Media and Sport Secretary.

Priti Patel has moved from her role as employment minister to international development secretary.

David Cameron has acted fast since leaving No. 10 yesterday, moving his family into this £16.8 new pad in Holland Park, the Evening Standard reports.

The seven-bedroom house had armed police stationed outside on Thursday, the newspaper claims, and is owned by Cameron's friend and public relations mogul Sir Alan Parker and his wife, Lady Jane Hermione Parker.

May appears to have merged two ministries to form the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and appointed Greg Clarke as head of it. Clarke was formerly Secretary of State for the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).

The Department for Transport is showing off its multi-media chops with this thrilling video of new Transport Minister Chris Grayling arriving at his new office...

And now James Brokenshire has been made Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

It looks like Sajid Javid, who joined Stephen Crabb in his aborted bid for the Tory leadership what feels like six months ago, is in at Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG)

Buoyant traders on the London market saw their balloon popped after the Bank of England failed to cut interest rates from already historic lows.

Top flight shares saw around £15bn ($20bn, €18bn) wiped off their values as the market fell about 60 points in the minutes after the Bank's noon decision to keep rates at 0.5%, the lowest in its 321-year history.

Read more here.

Here is the new Chancellor, Phillip Hammond, on the decision not to shoot for a budget surplus by 2020

US Secretary of State John Kerry has apparently spoken to the new foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, about the US-UK special relationship, as well as the campaign against Islamic State (Isis) and Syria.

Plenty making the point that Andrea Leadsom may have a tough time on her hands dealing with the one group of Britons that stand to lose most from a Brexit: farmers.

British farmers will no longer be able to claim the lucrative subsidies under Europe's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) once Britain leaves the EU.

Another surprise appointment as Andrea Leadsom, Theresa May's rival for the tory leadership just a matter of days ago, has been appointed secretary of state for Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

Former immigration minister Damian Green has been given Stephen Crabb's old job and work and pensions secretary.

And just like that we're back on the cabinet appointments. Chris Grayling, long predicted to have a top job in May's office, has been appointed transport secretary after previously being leader of the House of Commons

While we wait for more cabinet appointments, here's a separate politics story regarding the Ukip leadership.

Our reporter Ian Silvera spoke to candidate Steven Woolfe at his official bid to lead the party following Nigel Farage's resignation.

Woolfe said:

Immigration is still an important point – it's a major factor on housing, schools and hospitals. But I think we've won the argument to say that we need to have a managed migration policy.

We still need to ensure that we talk about it because that's a big concern. We can't let them off the hook. But it does mean that we talk about developing the polices, trying to work alongside them – sometimes agree with them, sometimes disagree with them.

But the policies must be directed at ensuring that people in this country have a fair crack at the whip, that their wages start to rise, that they have opportunities to get housing, that we have investment into the hospitals and schools so that they are less overcrowded and we consider the future where we have large population growth so they are not overcrowded. It's not about GDP, it's about quality of life.

Read the full story here.

Stephen Crabb, who was the Work and Pensions Secretary under David Cameron and ran for the party leadership against Theresa May, resigned from the government. He said in a statement that he made the decision "in the best interests of my family".

Earlier, he smiled and said "good morning" as he entered Downing Street.

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park has been appointed the new leader of the House of Lords. She replaces Tina Stowell.

Now confirmed, Jeremy Hunt will stay on as Health Secretary.

Theresa Villiers has quit her role as secretary of state for Northern Ireland after reportedly been offered a new role by May in the cabinet.

In a statement posted on Facebook, she wrote:

I regret to say that I have left the Government. The new Prime Minister was kind enough to offer me a role but it was not one which I felt I could take on.

I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to serve on the front bench for 11 years, first in the Shadow Cabinet, then as Transport Minister, and finally as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for four years in David Cameron's Cabinet.

I would like to thank everyone who has supported me during that time. I am sad to bring to end my work in Northern Ireland but I believe that I leave the political situation there in a more stable position than it has been for many years, not least because I was able to to help tackle the crisis which a year ago left us on the brink of a collapse of devolution and a return to direct rule.

I send my very best wishes to Northern Ireland's leaders as they continue the crucial process of implementing the two historic agreements that the cross party talks I chaired were able to deliver.

Northern Ireland and its people will always have a very special place in my heart and I am confident that progress will continue to be made to embed peace, stability and prosperity there.

I wish the Prime Minister well in the great task on which she and her Government are about to embark to seize the many positive opportunities presented by the Brexit vote. They will have my full support in that vital work. I look forward to continuing to represent the interests of my Chipping Barnet constituents in Parliament with enthusiasm and diligence.

After reports suggesting he had been sacked from the cabinet, followed by merely getting a new role, it now looks like Jeremy Hunt could be staying on as health secretary.

Patrick McLoughlin has just been confirmed as Conservative Party chairman and chancellor of duchy of Lancaster, replacing Letwin.

He was previously the transport secretary.

Elsewhere, the Howard League for Penal Reform has welcomed the appointment of Lizz Truss as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice.

Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said:

Gavin Williamson, Cameron's former parliamentary private secretary, has been appointed as parliamentary secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip).

Followed shortly by confirmation Justine Greening has been appointed education secretary and minister for women and equalities in place of Nicky Morgan.

First confirmed new appointment of the day as Liz Truss is named new justice secretary, replacing Michael Gove.

Confirmation from 10 Downing Street on who has left the cabinet so far. No word on Hunt, so may just be moving to a different job.

Oliver Letwin, Duchy of Lancaster, is also confirmed to have left the government.

Jeremy Hunt, who has overseen his role as health secretary during the junior doctors contract dispute, has also reportedly been sacked.

John Whittingdale is the next to go as secretary for culture, media and sport. Confirmed via his own Twitter.

Education secretary and minister for women and equalities Nicky Morgan, a supporter of Gove in the Tory leadership campaign, has also been sacked from her roles in government.

The first big announcement from today is that justice secretary Michael Gove has been sacked and will not serve in Theresa May's government.

According to Sky News senior political correspondent, May will begin announcing the next round of cabinet roles at 11am

There's already been plenty of reaction to Boris Johnson being named foreign secretary by Theresa May.

In the US, a spokesperson for the State Department appeared to struggle to contain his laughter when he was told the news, adding:

"This is something, frankly, a relationship that goes beyond personalities and it is an absolutely critical moment in, certainly England's history, but also in the US/UK relationship, so absolutely we are committed to working productively going forward."

The full story featuring the video of the incident can be read on the IBTimes Uk here.

Elsewhere, former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden Carl Bildt and former PM of Australia Tony Abbott have expressed contrasting opinions on the new diplomat for Britain.

We have the full story now on Hammond's comments dismissing an emergency budget. Here's an extract:

Hammond's words represent a clear move away from the policies implemented by Osborne in his attempt to balance Britain's books. Two weeks before the referendum, the former Chancellor had warned voters that, in a case of a win for the 'Leave' campaign, the Government would have to push through an emergency budget, with £30bn worth of spending cuts and tax hikes.

Arguably another surprise from last night was the return of Liam fox to the cabinet after his resigned in disgrace in 2011. Fox, who was the first candidate to be eliminated from the Tory leadership race, quit as defence secretary because of his relationship with his best friend Adam Werritty.

Fox allowed the self-style adviser Werritty to come with him on foreign despite having no officially role and even let him attend government meetings with military figures and diplomates. In his resignation letter, Fox wrote to then PM David Cameron to admit he had "mistakenly allowed" personal and professional responsibilities to be "blurred".

After naming the first six roles in the new cabinet, Theresa May then made a series of phone calls to some of Europe's leaders, including French President Francois Hollande and German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Merkel has said this morning she is looking forward to working with May and has invited the new PM for talks in Berlin. "It's our task to work very closely with governments of ally countries," she said, reported Reuters.

However, Merkel declined to comment on the surprise appointment of Boris Johnson as foreign secretary at the news conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

During an interview with the Sunday Telegraph in May, Johnson warned the EU is attempting to become a superstate comparable to Nazi Germany.

He said: "Napoleon, Hitler, various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this by different methods."

Hammond has already made his first major announcement as chancellor a matter of hours after been given the job by confirming there will no emergency budget as warned by previous chancellor George Osborne if the Britain voted to leave the EU.

Hammond said: "The Prime Minister made clear we will do an Autumn Statement in the usual way - in the autumn - and we will look carefully over the summer at the situation.

"I'm seeing the governor of the Bank of England this morning and we will take stock."

Good morning and welcome to the IBTimes UK live blog on the wonderful and exciting world of British politics.

What we have to look forward to today is prime minister Theresa May continuing to announce who will be in her new cabinet after already naming some of the top jobs.

The biggest surprise from last night's announcements was the appointment of leading Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson as foreign secretary, taking over from Philip Hammond who was promoted to chancellor.

George Osborne, who not long ago was odds-on favourite to take over from David Cameron a prime minister, was reportedly sacked by May as chancellor after six years in the job.

Elsewhere, Amber Rudd was named as the home secretary (the role previously held by May), Michael Fallon stays as defence secretary, David Davis was given the new job of Brexit secretary, and Liam Fox, who resigned in disgrace from his previous cabinet role in 2011, was appointed international trade secretary.

So far, three of the key cabinet positions have been given to Brexiters – Johnson, Fox and Davis