Theresa May’s THREE BREXITEERS — New PM reveals her top team to get us out of EU

BORIS Johnson was sensationally appointed Foreign Secretary last night as Theresa May assembled a Cabinet team to pull Britain out of the EU.

In a dramatic signal of her determination to show that “Brexit means Brexit”, the new Prime Minister gave the former London Mayor and star of the Vote Leave campaign a crucial role in defining the country’s new place in the world. 

She also gave veteran Eurosceptic David Davis the key new job of Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. 

The senior MP – who was kept out of government by David Cameron – will spearhead the Government’s negotiations for quitting the EU. 

His new portfolio was instantly dubbed the “Brexit Ministry” by Westminster insiders last night. 

And on her first evening in Number 10, Mrs May immediately took her first step towards Brexit negotiations. 

Her first telephone call to a foreign leader was to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the most influential figure in the EU. 

Liam Fox, another long-standing opponent of the Brussels bureaucracy, was brought back into the Cabinet from the backbenches to become International Trade Secretary. 

Mrs May’s first Cabinet appointments, within two hours of walking across the Number 10 threshold for the first time as premier, were seen as an audacious attempt to heal the bitter Tory rift over the EU referendum. 

Her decision to give leading Eurosceptics key foreign affairs roles delighted Brexit campaigners. 

Ukip MP Douglas Carswell said: “Rejoice! The world is a better place!”

In another bold decision, Mrs May sacked Chancellor George Osborne. 

Philip Hammond, who was Foreign Secretary under David Cameron, was put in charge of the Treasury in his place. 

Mr Osborne’s exit marked a brutal decline in his political fortunes after he had long been tipped as Mr Cameron’s successor.

He clashed repeatedly with Mrs May within the Government and could turn into a formidable backbench critic. 

She is understood to have refused to have him in her Cabinet. 

Mrs May also kept her promise of promoting women to senior ministerial roles, making Amber Rudd her successor as Home Secretary. 

As she left Number 10, Ms Rudd said: “I’m very pleased, very excited.” 

But it was Mr Johnson’s appointment that sent the biggest shockwaves around Westminster. 

The Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP was thought to be in the political wilderness after being forced out of the Tory leadership race. 

Getting one of the great offices of state has instantly revived his long-term chances of becoming a future Tory leader and prime minister. 

Just two weeks ago, Mrs May had openly mocked Mr Johnson at her campaign launch. 

Assessing his qualifications to negotiate with foreign governments when London Mayor, Mrs May said: “I seem to remember last time he did a deal with the Germans he came back with three nearly-new water cannon.” 

However, welcoming Mr Johnson’s elevation, Tory MP James Cleverly said he was “spot on for this post”, having a proven record as London Mayor during which he also drummed up billions of pounds of foreign investment. 

“He will be a great salesman for the UK and now we’ve left the EU we need to re-establish those international relations. He will do a fantastic job,” said Mr Cleverly, who backed Leave in the referendum campaign. 

Fellow Tory MP Chris Philp, who voted Remain, said that in choosing her Foreign Secretary Mrs May had demonstrated “imagination and magnanimity”, showing that “she’s going to reach out to all parts of the party”. 

With Philip Hammond to be “responsible for steadying the ship” as Chancellor, Mr Johnson brought not just experience “running the world’s most international city” but also added “a dash of colour which our politics will benefit from”, said Mr Philp. 

Regarding the appointment of Mr Davis, he said: “It will reassure people who voted for Brexit to have someone like David Davis, who has a track record of Euroscepticism going back 25 years. 

“Everyone can be completely confident there will be no backsliding.”

 Michael Fallon, another veteran minister and key ally of Mrs May, was kept in his post as Defence Secretary.