Jacob Rees-Mogg and Brandon Lewis quit as PM begins reshuffle

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Jacob Rees-Mogg and Brandon Lewis have resigned from the government as Rishi Sunak begins to assemble his new cabinet on his first day as prime minister.

Wendy Morton, the chief whip who caused immense controversy under Liz Truss over the fracking vote, has also been sacked by Sunak.

Sunak met departing ministers in his House of Commons office, a common tactic used to spare sacked cabinet ministers the indignity of walking up Downing Street in front of the cameras.

Rees-Mogg, the business secretary, had been a close ally of both Boris Johnson and Liz Truss and had attacked Sunak during his failed summer leadership campaign.

The Guardian understands Rees-Mogg sent Sunak a resignation letter after he finished departmental questions in the Commons, just moments after Sunak was confirmed as prime minister.

He had previously said he would not serve in Sunak’s cabinet. “I believe his behaviour towards Boris Johnson, his disloyalty means that I could not possibly support him. And he wouldn’t want me in his cabinet anyway,” he told Sky News in July.

Rees-Mogg’s letter was swiftly followed by one from Lewis, the justice secretary, which said: “Our party is at a crossroads. We now have an opportunity to reunite and rebuild, and we must take it. We must come together and deliver the mandate we were given by the British people.

“We have a duty to the country to do so, at a time of economic hardship for so many. It is no exaggeration to say that the future of the Conservative party and everything we stand for is at stake if we do not.”

Morton tweeted that she was “heading to the back benches from where I will continue to represent the constituents, businesses and communities of Aldridge-Brownhills.”

Sunak is expected to appoint key allies including Dominic Raab and Oliver Dowden to cabinet posts, as well as signalling an intention to reach across the party after receiving endorsements from those on the party’s right, such as Suella Braverman and Kemi Badenoch.

A Number 10 source that Sunak would do much of the cabinet appointments on Tuesday afternoon, though more could continue into Wednesday.

More details soon…