DAVID Mundell was mercilessly axed by Boris Johnson tonight despite pledging allegiance to him.
Mr Mundell – who’d served as Scottish Secretary since 2015 – was among the first of a string of ministers to be sacked in a cull of Theresa May’s top team.
It came hours after he was branded “spineless” and a “hypocrite” for refusing to quit Mr Johnson’s Cabinet, which he’d previously insisted he’d be unlikely to serve in due to the Tory leader’s pursuit of a No Deal Brexit.
Tonight, Mr Mundell was replaced as Scottish Secretary by government whip Alister Jack.
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Mr Jack was elected MP for Dumfries and Galloway in the 2017 snap General Election.
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said he would have “big shoes to fill” but that he has “the Scottish party’s full support in his new role”.
Mr Mundell said he was “disappointed but not surprised” with the development, adding: “Will, of course, support the new Government, but as I said to PM this afternoon I will also hold him to account on his commitments to the Union.”
He later posted a snap from a beer garden and joked: “I hear there’s more time for this sort of thing on the backbenches.”
Earlier, during his final session of Scotland Questions in the Commons, Mr Mundell was heckled by SNP and Labour MPs who quizzed him on his intention to stay in Mr Johnson’s “No Deal cabinet”.
Boris Johnson's new Cabinet - what we know so far
IN
Sajid Javid (Chancellor)
Priti Patel (Home Secretary)
Dominic Raab (Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State – the PM’s deputy)
Steve Barclay (Stays as Brexit Secretary)
Michael Gove (Made Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – a senior position that looks after the Cabinet office and inner workings of Goverment)
Ben Wallace (Defence Secretary)
Liz Truss (International Trade Secretary)
Gavin Williamson (Education Secretary)
Matt Hancock (Stays as Health Secretary)
Amber Rudd (Stays as Work and Pensions Secretary and becomes Minister for Women and Equalities)
Theresa Villiers (Secretary of State for Environment)
Nicky Morgan (Culture Secretary)
Andrea Leadsom (Business Secretary)
Robert Jenrick (Housing Secretary)
Robert Buckland (Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary)
Alok Sharma (International Development Secretary)
Grant Shapps (Transport Secretary)
Alun Cairns (Stays as Welsh Secretary)
Julian Smith (Northern Ireland Secretary)
Alister Jack (Scottish Secretary)
Baroness Natalie Evans (Stays Leader of the House of Lords)
SACKED:
1. Penny Mordaunt (Defence Secretary)
2. Damian Hinds (Education Secretary)
3. Liam Fox (Trade Secretary)
4. James Brokenshire (Housing and Local Government Secretary)
5. Greg Clark (Business Secretary)
6. Karen Bradley (Northern Ireland Secretary)
7. Caroline Nokes (Immigration Minister – attended Cabinet)
8. David Mundell (Scottish Secretary)
9. Jeremy Hunt (Foreign Secretary)
10. Claire Perry (Energy minister)
11. Jeremy Wright (Culture Secretary)
12. Mel Stride (Leader of the Commons)
RESIGNED:
13. Philip Hammond (Chancellor – resigned after May left)
14. David Lidington (Cabinet Office and Deputy PM – resigned after May left)
15. David Gauke (Justice Secretary – resigned after May left)
16. Rory Stewart (International Development Secretary – resigned after May left)
17. Chris Grayling (Transport Secretary – asked to leave Boris’ government)
SNP MP Pete Wishart asked Mr Mundell – who will now see his salary cut £67,000 – if he would “ever develop anything resembling a backbone”.
Meanwhile, Labour’s Shadow Scottish Secretary Lesley Laird accused him of “selling out Scotland”.
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Mr Mundell, MP for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, refused to give a straight answer.
On Tuesday he congratulated Mr Johnson on his appointment.
And he urged his party to “unite behind the new leader and Prime Minister, so we can get on with the job of delivering Brexit, whilst maintaining a strong United Kingdom”.
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