Rishi Sunak cabinet: Who’s in and who’s out, from Jeremy Hunt to Jacob Rees-Mogg

New prime minister Rishi Sunak has started forming his top team, with big names such as Jacob Rees-Mogg announcing their departure to the backbenches.

Standing in Downing Street on Tuesday after meeting the King, Mr Sunak vowed to fix the “mistakes” of Liz Truss’s leadership and braced the nation for “difficult decisions” ahead.

The freshly-appointed Conservative leader warned the UK is facing a “profound economic crisis” in his first speech.

His criticism of Ms Truss’s brief and chaotic tenure came just over an hour after the outgoing PM defended her botched economic strategy in her farewell speech from Downing Street.

Mr Sunak said his predecessor, whose 49 days in office made her the shortest-lasting PM in history, was “not wrong” to want to drive up growth, describing it as a “noble aim”.

Among the Cabinet ministers who have already stepped down is business secretary Mr Rees-Mogg, the former leader of the House of Commons, who said he was happy to support the new prime minister from the backbenches but conceded he would not get a job in the new top team.

Brandon Lewis, one of the longest-serving cabinet ministers, said he was out as justice secretary as he vowed to support Mr Sunak from the backbenches.

Senior Tory MP Huw Merriman said the government may be “more boring” under the stewardship of the new prime minister but he thinks “that’s what people want”, as “we’ve had enough excitement”.

Here’s the full list of who’s in and who’s out in Cabinet as appointments are made this afternoon:

Who’s In?

Chancellor – Jeremy Hunt

Jeremy Hunt has been re-appointed as Chancellor, Downing Street has said.

He replaced Kwasi Kwarteng in the role following the disastrous mini-Budget and went on to scrap most of the new measures.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – Oliver Dowden

MP Oliver Dowden has been appointed as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

The role is the second most senior minister in the Cabinet after the prime minister and the holder must administer the estates and rents of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Justice Secretary – Dominic Raab

Dominic Raab is back as justice secretary and has been appointed deputy prime minister, Downing Street has announced.

Chief Whip – Simon Hart

Simon Hart has been appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip).

Foreign Secretary – James Cleverly

James Cleverly has been re-appointed as the foreign secretary, according to Downing Street.

Defence Secretary – Ben Wallace

Ben Wallace MP is back as defence secretary in Rishi Sunak’s government.

Who’s Out?

Business Secretary – Jacob Reese-Mogg

Jacob Rees-Mogg quit as business secretary after conceding he would not get a job in Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet despite recanting his claim the new prime minister was a “socialist”.

The old ally of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss was the first to acknowledge on Tuesday that he was out as the newly appointed Conservative leader began a government shake-up.

A source close to Mr Rees-Mogg told the PA news agency: “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.”

Work and Pensions Secretary – Chloe Smith

Chloe Smith, who backed Rishi Sunak in the Tory leadership contest, said she is out as work and pensions secretary.

In a tweet, outgoing work and pensions secretary Chloe Smith said: “It has been a privilege to serve as the secretary of state for work and pensions and I would like to thank all of the brilliant staff at DWP for their dedication to helping people into work and protecting the most vulnerable.”

Chief Whip – Wendy Morton

Wendy Morton has revealed she is no longer chief whip and is returning to the backbenches under Rishi Sunak’s new government.

She tweeted: “Heading to the back benches from where I will continue to represent the constituents, businesses and communities of Aldridge-Brownhills.”

Education secretary – Kit Malthouse

Kit Malthouse is out as education secretary, a source close to the MP told the PA news agency.

The former policing minister is a close ally of Boris Johnson, serving under him as deputy mayor for policing from 2008 to 2012.

Welsh secretary – Robert Buckland

Robert Buckland said he is leaving as Welsh secretary at his request.

He said: “It has been an honour to serve as secretary of state for Wales, and to have served four prime ministers as solicitor general, justice minister & Lord Chancellor.”

Party Chairman – Jake Berry

Announcing his departure from the role of Conservative Party chairman, Jake Berry tweeted: “It has been an honour to serve as the Conservative Party chairman, but all good things must come to an end.

“I relish the opportunity to serve our great party and my constituents from the backbenches once again.”

Environment Secretary – Ranil Jayawardena

Environment secretary Ranil Jayawardena announced he would be stepping down. Writing to Rishi Sunak he said: “I know that you wish for a new team to join you in HM government, so I write to stand aside.”

Levelling Up – Simon Clarke

Levelling up and housing secretary Simon Clarke has also announced his resignation. The former chief secretary at the treasury worked alongside Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor.

Announcing his departure, Mr Clarke tweeted: “It has been a great privilege to serve as secretary of state @luhc, working alongside some terrific people to #LevelUp our communities.”