UK: Top Treasury official resigns after reshuffle

Ahmet Gürhan Kartal

LONDON: Britain’s top Treasury official stepped down Thursday after the details of a predicted Cabinet reshuffle surfaced.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid refused to retain the job of chancellor in the new Boris Johnson Cabinet after the prime minister said he would replace all of Javid’s advisers with his own hand-picked staff, according to local reports.

“The chancellor said no self-respecting minister would accept those terms,” an unnamed source from the government was quoted by The Guardian as saying.

Javid’s resignation came four weeks before he was due to present the 2020 budget.

Rishi Sunak, chief secretary to the Treasury, has been appointed the new chancellor.

In parts of the reshuffle made public earlier by Johnson, a number of ministers lost their seats.

Julian Smith was sacked as the secretary of Northern Ireland, despite his recent success in forming the new Executive in Northern Ireland.

Andrea Leadsom, business secretary, also got her walking papers.

Geoffrey Cox, who played a key role in parliamentary debates on Brexit, was also sacked as attorney general.

Theresa Villiers and Esther McVey also found themselves out of the Cabinet as environment secretary and housing minister.