The British law minister resigned Tuesday afternoon, shortly after former finance minister Rishi Sunak was confirmed as the new prime minister. Justice secretary Brandon Lewis said Sunak – the first person of colour to become PM – ‘will have my support from the back benches to tackle the many challenges we face – as a party and as a country’.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, Britain’s business and energy secretary, also resigned, news agency Reuters said quoting Sky News. Sky also said Jeremy Hunt will remain finance minister.
Lewis and Rees-Mogg’s resignations have been seen as kickstarting Sunak’s overhaul of the UK cabinet, several members of which were appointed by former PM Liz Truss.
Rees-Mogg was a staunch supporter of both Truss and ex PM Boris Johnson, and had earlier said he would not serve in Sunak’s cabinet. He quit Tuesday morning after a report in the House of Commons on his departments’ work to-date, sources told Bloomberg.
Truss beat Sunak in a Conservative Party leadership contest last month to be named as Johnson’s successor, but she lasted 45 days and quit last week amid criticism over economic policies. Her proposal for (unfunded) tax cuts led to panic in the markets and the prospect of ballooning debt drove the pound to record lows and forced the Bank of England to intervene.
Altarwho took charge as the United Kingdom’s third prime minister this year after meeting King Charles III at London’s Buckingham Palace, has vowed to fix’ mistakes made by Truss.
“Right now our country is facing a profound economic crisis… This will mean difficult decisions to come,” Sunak, who is his country’s youngest leader in over 200 years, warned.
