Theresa May shakes up UK govt to prepare for Brexit

New Prime Minister Theresa May showed a ruthless streak on Thursday in building a Cabinet to lead Britain’s exit from the European Union, while her finance minister said he would do whatever was necessary to restore confidence in the economy.

A day after replacing David Cameron, Ms May moved to impose her authority by axing a handful of prominent ministers including justice secretary Michael Gove, a leading Brexit campaigner who had staged his own bid for Prime Minister.

Her most contentious appointment is foreign secretary Boris John-son, who compared the EU’s aims to those of Hitler and Napoleon during the campaign leading up to Britain’s vote last month to quit the 28-nation bloc.

After filling half-a-dozen of the top jobs Wednesday, Ms May made new appointments on Thursday, including justice secretary Liz Truss and education secretary Justine Greening.

She also cleared out rivals, firing stalwarts of David Cameron’s outgoing government including culture secretary John Whittingdale, education secretary Nicky Morgan and — most significantly — justice secretary Michael Gove, her onetime competitor for the job of Conservative leader.

Mr Gove led the “Leave” side in Britain’s EU referendum battle alongside former London mayor, then betrayed him by making a bid for Conservative leadership — a job Mr Johnson had long sought.

Three weeks after the referendum, Ms May’s new government faces the formidably complex task of extricating Britain from the EU — itself reeling from the shock of Brexit — while trying to protect the economy from feared disruption to confidence, trade and investment.

New finance minister Philip Hammond signalled he would take a less aggressive approach to cutting the budget deficit than his predecessor George Osborne.

Lesser-known than Johnson but at least as important to Britain’s future is David Davis, the cumbersomely titled Secretary of state for exiting the European Union.

Mr Davis, a veteran legisalator who has twice run for the Conservative leadership, is one of the staunchest euroskeptics in British politics. Ms May, who had favoured a vote to stay in the EU, must now decide when and how to start official divorce proceedings from the other 27 countries, who are pressing her to move quickly to lift the uncertainty now hanging over them all.

In her first words to the nation on Wednesday, she promised to champion social justice and to help ordinary Britons in their struggle to make ends meet. “The government I lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours. We will do everything we can to give you more control over your lives,” she said.