THERESA May has carried out a cull of some of David Cameron's closest allies in a shake-up of the Government which saw promotions for women and Brexiteers.

After sacking Mr Cameron's right-hand man George Osborne within hours of taking office on Wednesday, Mrs May went on to take the axe to Michael Gove, Oliver Letwin, Nicky Morgan and John Whittingdale.

But Jeremy Hunt kept his job as Health Secretary despite being widely tipped for the chop.

Council leaders in Hampshire are likely to be frustrated by the decision to axe Greg Clark from his role overseeing devolution.

Mr Clark, who supported the Solent Combined Authority deal, has swapped jobs with Business Secretary Sajid Javid.

Some Hampshire MPs have been vying for ministerial roles but have so far been overlooked.

The new PM rewarded her leadership campaign manager Chris Grayling with the post of Transport Secretary, adding him to the phalanx of Leave backers in Cabinet which already included Boris Johnson, Liam Fox and David Davis.

Meanwhile, failed leadership candidate Stephen Crabb quit the Cabinet "in the best interests of my family", days after The Times reported that he had sent sexually explicit WhatsApp messages to a young woman during the EU referendum campaign.

His job of Work and Pensions Secretary went to Damian Green, who served under Mrs May at the Home Office for four years as immigration minister and policing minister until his surprise sacking by Mr Cameron in 2014. Asked if he was pleased with his new role he turned to reporters and said: "Yes".

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers announced she was resigning from the Government after being offered a job by Mrs May which was "not one which I felt I could take on".

A week after seeing his hopes of the Tory leadership dashed when he came third in a poll of Tory MPs, Mr Gove lost his Justice Secretary job to Liz Truss, who became the first female Lord Chancellor in the thousand-year history of the role.

Ms Morgan's former role as Education Secretary went to another promoted woman, Justine Greening, whose new department will be beefed up by the addition of responsibilities for further and higher education, skills and apprenticeships.

Prominent Brexit backer Andrea Leadsom, who paved the way for Mrs May's rapid elevation to the premiership by pulling out of the Tory leadership contest on Monday, was promoted from energy minister to the Cabinet role of Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Other eye-catching appointments on the second day of the formation of Mrs May's Government included former transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin as Conservative Party chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Sacked ministers put a brave face on their departures in public statements. Mr Gove said that being a Cabinet minister for six years had been "an enormous privilege" and wished the new Government the "best of luck", while Mr Whittingdale wished his successor "every success".

Ms Morgan said she was "disappointed" not to be continuing as education secretary and minister for women and equalities.

Meanwhile, a day after their ejection from Government, Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne were spotted nursing their wounds over coffees with their families at a terrace cafe in Notting Hill.