Rishi Sunak is to begin his cabinet reshuffle this afternoon
Jacob Rees-Mogg has resigned as business secretary, according to reports.
A close ally of both former PMs, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, Rees-Mogg had earlier said he was not expecting to serve in Rishi Sunak’s cabinet.
Sunak is to begin his cabinet reshuffle Tuesday afternoon after winning the Conservative leadership race on Monday.
A source close to Rees-Mogg told Sky News: “He knows he was very close to the previous two regimes and it didn’t seem likely he was going to be appointed in the new cabinet.
“He’s happy to support the Prime Minister from the backbenches.”
Sunak will begin his reshuffle by meeting departing ministers in his House of Commons office, a common tactic used to save sacked ministers the embarrassment of walking up Downing Street in front of the media.
The Guardian reported that Rees-Mogg sent Sunak a resignation letter after he finished departmental questions in the Commons, just moments after Sunak was confirmed as prime minister.
He had previously said he would not serve in Sunak’s cabinet. “I believe his behaviour towards Boris Johnson, his disloyalty means that I could not possibly support him. And he wouldn’t want me in his cabinet anyway,” he told Sky News in July.
Sunak is expected to appoint key allies including Dominic Raab and Oliver Dowden to cabinet posts.
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