Theresa May becomes Prime Minister – here's who joined her cabinet

May cracks the whip

Theresa May became Britain’s 76th Prime Minister yesterday after getting a formal invitation from the Queen to form a government.

In her maiden speech, May said: “My party is the Conservative and Unionist Party and that word unionist is very important to me. It means we believe in the Union, the precious, precious bond between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – but it means something else that is just as important. It means we believe in a union not just between the nations of the United Kingdom but between all of our citizens – every one of us – whoever we are and wherever we’re from.”

May fired George Osborne as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Osborne tweeted it had been a “privilege” to be chancellor, adding: “Others will judge – I hope I’ve left the economy in a better state than I found it.”

The former home secretary announced key members of her cabinet yesterday – here’s who they are:

Chancellor of the Exchequer – Philip Hammond

Foreign Secretary – Boris Johnson

Home Secretary – Amber Rudd

Defence Secretary – Michael Fallon

Secretary of State for Exiting the EU – David Davis

Secretary of State for International Trade – Liam Fox