A cabinet purged: "I hope Boris has thought about this issue" | Policy

BOris Johnson has promised time and time again to Conservative MPs who came to chat before the President declared that he would not call an election. Yet his first hours in power, when he sacked 18 of his ministers and promised a high-profile team that looked like "modern Britain," frightened Conservative MPs in Parliament.

Returning to Downing Street after an hour of work in his new House of Commons office, Johnson set up influential leave leaders with votes: Priti Patel, Dominic Raab, Michael Gove and Andrea Leadsom.

Inside, his staff seem to be gathering the back room of the referendum, including Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain, his new director of communications.

"He actually got a vote back," said a Member supporting Johnson. "And if I were the Spartans [the hardcore Brexiters who have resisted voting for a deal], or the Labor Party, I would be scared because they are really good.

"There is no one else in politics better than them to campaign. It's a wink that says, "I could have an election, you know". And all this is deliberate. The common interest of unions and conservatives is not to hold elections before the end of Brexit. This is how you conclude the agreement. It's voting for the agreement or organizing elections.

Another MP said that an election now looked like an implicit threat. "It helps you reach an agreement – you look ready," said the MP. "It's such a blatant game to fill your cabinet with all those potential rebels and send back people who will vote for you anyway."

The appointments have not only pissed off the soft wing of the party. The appointment of Cummings has also alienated a number of eurosceptics. One source said the Brexiters veterans, including Johnson campaign chairman Iain Duncan Smith, Bill Cash and Owen Paterson, were furious.

Cummings, a former Vote Leave director, where he 's often run into Eurosceptics in the past, had previously worked for IDS, but then publicly described him as incompetent.

For a politician accustomed to disconnected speeches, Johnson's first afternoon as prime minister was ruthlessly effective. The cabinet secretary, Mark Sedwill, greeted him at the door of No. 10, but the new prime minister barely spent half an hour inside the black door with his new officials before he went to throw in his procession up to the demolition ball ball on the cabinet of May.

"There is a sense of urgency," said a source close to Johnson. "He always made it clear that he wanted it to be done immediately."

Johnson spent a little more than an hour sacking ministers in his office in the House of Commons, to avoid the humiliation of walking down Downing Street. The first, a few minutes after Johnson's motorcade on the tarmac in front of the parliament, was the biggest shock. Penny Mordaunt, the first woman secretary of defense, was fired after only two months.

Mordaunt's allies said she desperately wanted to stay at his post, but that the overnight briefing that had been offered to Jeremy Hunt had been hurtful. "She was fired. She did not resign or refuse anything else, "said a source close to Mordaunt.

Hunt saw the Defense Secretary position on Tuesday night and said he could not accept what he saw as a demotion. A close ally stated that he was horrified that Mordaunt was later fired and that he was called again to be offered the defense post – and clearly explained it to Johnson.

"How could Jeremy do that to Penny, when she was such an badet to the campaign?" Said the source. "It was unthinkable."

While Johnson occupied his other duties, his rival in power headed for a long, well-watered dinner with his fired friend and service mate, Liam Fox.

"Sacking Jeremy was mbadively useless," said one of his team members. "It's 40% of the supporters who support it – where does this bring Boris?"

Raab and Patel's promotions, in particular, were particularly criticized by Hunt and Mordaunt, who did the opposite: "very difficult for many of us".

A reshuffle was planned, but the night before, Johnson had promised the backbench committee members of 1922 "the beginnings of the love bomb here." "It looks more like a real bomb," said a deputy.

A pbading minister, observing the departure of some cars, said: "I hope Boris has thought about this issue well."

Another MP, a close friend and former colleague of Johnson, said that he was not expecting such mbad layoffs. "I know these guys very well," he said. "But that surprises me even."

Some gave the outgoing ministers a sharper verdict, and many pointed out that they were all people who could be counted on not to rebel. "The political strategy is, he knows that he has to make an agreement – and these people will vote for any matter," said a spokesman.

"It's very daring – but how many of those who have been sacked would you really want in your office? Who will honestly outrage Karen Bradley, Chris Grayling or James Brokenshire?

Many of those who had waited to be fired rather than walking already knew that their time was up. Outgoing Business Secretary Greg Clark – who has not resigned preemptively – has reserved pre-emptive drinks, bringing trays of wine for his team late into the evening on the Commons terrace Tuesday night.

Four resignations took place even before Johnson entered No. 10, but none was surprising. Chancellor Philip Hammond and Justice Secretary David Gauke made specific remarks in closed-door speeches before resigning.

Hammond offered red wine and chips in his office Tuesday night, before meeting with Treasury officials departing for Wednesday. "He said that people should keep an eye on his Twitter and that he expects to be much more active," said a Treasury source.

"He stressed how important it would be for the new Chancellor to have a good relationship with No. 10." Hammond's letter of resignation left little room to congratulate his outgoing boss.

Gauke, the outgoing secretary of justice, delivered a farewell speech to the Justice Department staff. According to sources, he would have used his own gesture to loudly advocate the need for an independent and daring public service.

The new machine still had some loose wheels. Despite a press release that night announcing that Tracey Crouch would be entrusted with a lot of work in the firm, it seems that no one from Johnson's team took the trouble to check if it suited him. She said that she would prefer to spend the summer with her young son.

Some deputies were still waiting for a new elimination of the junior ranks. Nevertheless, MPs have stated that they expect many of Johnson's acolytes to be disappointed.

Some have already played roles inferior to what they hoped for – Liz Truss and Matt Hanbad both lobbied politically for the role of Chancellor or Business Secretary.

"To be honest, I do not know how bad Matt will be," said one MP about Hanbad, who will remain Health Secretary. "It looked like this morning to someone who was extremely worried about being about to cut his head off."

One minister compared the number of fans waiting for a job to an overbooked easyJet flight: "Everyone thinks they have a seat, but some are not even on the waiting list. Some hopefully watch their vouchers in the living room. "