THERESA May has sought to restore some stability to her shell-shocked administration by naming one of her most trusted cabinet ministers as the new Foreign Secretary.

Jeremy Hunt, the longest serving Health Secretary in the history of the NHS, has replaced Boris Johnson.

Mr Hunt has been replaced at health by former culture secretary Matt Hancock, who is in turn replaced by the former attorney general Jeremy Wright QC.

A Remain supporter, Mr Hunt has since converted to Brexit, and is seen as a potential replacement for Mrs May as Prime Minister.

His promotion means all four of the great offices of state - Prime Minister, Chancellor, Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary - are now occupied by Remain campaigners.

Mr Hunt praised Mr Johnson as "one of the great driving forces in British politics" and thanked him for his efforts after the Novichok nerve agent attack.

He said: "My principal job at a time of massive importance for our country is to to stand four square behind the Prime Minister so that we can get through an agreement with the European Union that was agreed by the cabinet last week at Chequers.

“This is a time when the world is looking at us as a country, wondering what kind of country we’re going to be in a post-Brexit world.

“What I want to say to them is that Britain is going to be a dependable ally, a country that stands up for the values that matter to the people of this country, and we’re going to be a confident voice in the world.”

Mr Hunt’s move came after one of the most dramatic days at Westminster in years, with Mr Johnson’s resignation coming hot on the heels of that of Brexit Secretary David Davis.

In a stinging resignation letter, Mr Johnson said the dream of millions of Leave voters was “dying” under Mrs May, and her planned soft Brexit would make the UK a “colony” of Europe.

Mrs May said she was “sorry and a little surprised” at the comments.

An MP since 2005, Mr Hunt has been in Cabinet since the Tories returned to office in 2010.

As culture secretary he oversaw the 2012 London Olympics, although his most memorable moment was ringing a handbell on TV until it snapped and flew at a bystander.

His surname has also led to several unfortunate slips of the tongue by TV and radio presenters.

After the Olympics, he was moved to health, clocking up almost six years in post.

He was so attached to the job, he refused to move in Mrs May’s January reshuffle, and extracted a promise of extra funding to mark the 70th year of the NHS.

He never been far from controversy.

The 51-year MP for South West Surrey is the richest member of the cabinet.

He made a fortune last year after selling an education business he set up, and in which he had a 48 per cent stake, for £30m.

He also set up a property company with his wife which he failed to declare in his parliamentary register of interests on time and had to apologise earlier this year.

Multilingual, on paper he has more diplomatic skills than Boris Johnson, but was recently criticised for telling companies such as Airbus not to comment about Brexit.

He faces an intense first week on the job.

He is due to to join Mrs May at the Nato summit in Brussels on Wednesday, followed by President Donald Trump's visit to the UK on Thursday.

Scots LibDem MP Christine Jardine said: “Jeremy Hunt has been set a devastatingly low bar by his predecessor when it comes to basic competency, with him leaving a litany of errors in his wake.

“Mr Hunt does, however, also face an impossible challenge when it comes to advocating for Britain around the world at a time when his Conservative government are doing huge damage to our economy and influence in their pursuit of Brexit.”

Backbench MP Geoffrey Cox, a barrister who once represented the notorious property millionaire Nicholas van Hoogstraten, is the new attorney general for England and Wales.

One of Mr Cox’s first big tasks will be representing the UK government in its attempt to strike down Holyrood’s alternative Brexit Bill as the Supreme Court later this month.