Jeremy Hunt remains chancellor amid big cabinet reshuffle

Rishi Sunak has kept Jeremy Hunt as chancellor, amid a major cabinet overhaul after entering Downing Street.

The new PM has removed key allies of former leader Liz Truss and rewarded some loyal supporters with top jobs.

Michael Gove and Dominic Raab, key figures in Boris Johnson's government, have also returned to cabinet roles.

And Suella Braverman is back as home secretary, days after quitting over sending an official document via personal email.

Despite being tipped for a promotion, Mr Sunak's leadership rival Penny Mordaunt stays in the mid-ranking role of Commons leader.

Mr Sunak is under pressure to reach out to different parts of the Conservative Party, after becoming its third leader in seven weeks.

A number of close allies of Ms Truss, including Simon Clarke, Chloe Smith, and Wendy Morton, have left their cabinet positions.

Therese Coffey, a close friend of the former prime minister, has also been demoted from deputy PM to environment secretary.

However, a number of her cabinet have kept their roles - including James Cleverly as foreign secretary and Kemi Badenoch as trade secretary.

Dominic Raab is back as deputy PM and justice secretary, roles he held under former leader Boris Johnson.

Michael Gove, a veteran of several recent Conservative governments, also returns to the cabinet table as levelling-up secretary.

Several of Mr Sunak's longtime allies have been given promotions, including Oliver Dowden, who has become Cabinet Office Minister, and Steve Barclay, the new health secretary.

Mel Stride, who ran Mr Sunak's unsuccessful summer leadership campaign, has been given a cabinet job as work and pensions secretary.

Ben Wallace remains defence secretary, a role he has held since Mr Johnson entered Downing Street in July 2019.

But Jacob Rees-Mogg, a big supporter of Mr Johnson, has been replaced as business secretary by Grant Shapps.

The decision to keep Mr Hunt at the Treasury has been seen as a move to reassure financial markets, which have seen in turmoil in recent weeks in the wake of last month's mini-budget.

Mr Hunt, who reversed most of the tax cuts upon his appointment by Ms Truss, is expected to give more detail of the UK's tax and spending plans in a key statement next Monday.

The return of Ms Braverman, a figure on the right of the party, has raised eyebrows given her dramatic resignation only six days ago.

She was forced to step down on what became the final chaotic day of Liz Truss' premiership, after admitting breaching government data rules.

In her resignation letter, she said she had emailed an official document from her private email account, but also attacked Ms Truss's approach to immigration.

There have been reports that Ms Braverman had been at odds with Ms Truss over plans to relax immigration rules in a bid to boost economic growth.

Labour criticised her reappointment, with shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper accusing Mr Sunak of "putting party before country".

In other moves:

Earlier, Mr Rees-Mogg told the BBC the Conservatives would be "toast" unless they pulled together.

Only a couple of hours after leaving his post, he returned to the Commons to speak as a backbencher during a debate on government legislation to replace EU laws carried over after Brexit.

Mr Sunak has warned "difficult decisions" lie ahead for his new administration, as it grapples with a "profound economic crisis".

He said he had been elected as Tory leader to "fix" the "mistakes" made by Ms Truss, who has left after just 49 days in office.