(Bloomberg) — Sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, follow us @Brexit and subscribe to our podcast.Sajid Javid quit as U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, according to three people familiar with the matter, as Boris Johnson’s reshuffle of his top team went sensationally off course. The prime minister had earlier fired a clutch of senior ministers including Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom — a former rival for the Conservative Party leadership — in a cull of hie cabinet on Thursday.After winning a big majority in December’s election, the British prime minister is seeking to stamp his authority on his top team to bring in new blood and prepare the U.K. for life after Brexit.Attorney General Geoffrey Cox, Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers, Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith, and housing minister Esther McVey have also confirmed their dismissals.Read more: Women Set for Junior Jobs in Johnson’s U.K. Government ReshuffleKey Developments:Javid quits as Chancellor of the Exchequer after argument with Johnson over advisersCulture Secretary Nicky Morgan leaves cabinet of her own volitionForeign Secretary Dominic Raab, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps all expected to stay in top teamOfficial says changes likely to be more moderate than the sweeping overhaul Johnson had been mulling in recent weeksJavid Quits as Chancellor (12 p.m.)Sajid Javid quit as U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer, a shock departure from Boris Johnson’s government.Javid was offered the job on the condition that he sacked all five of his special advisers at the request of the prime minister, which he refused, according to two people familiar with the matter.Javid had served as Britain’s finance minister since July 2019. His departure comes just weeks before the budget, where he was expected to announce a “decade of renewal” with tax cuts and spending for disadvantaged areas.Javid stood for leadership of the Conservative Party against Johnson last year, coming fourth in the race, before being appointed Chancellor.Javid Quits as Chancellor, Sun Reports (11:50 a.m.)Sajid javid has quit as chancellor of the exchequer, the Sun newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information.Varadkar Adds to Praise for Smith (11:30 a.m.)Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar added to the praise for fired Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith, further underlining the respect there is for him across the Irish Sea.Smiling Ministers Remaining in Cabinet (11:25 a.m.)Several Cabinet ministers have already been spotted arriving at Johnson’s office in Number 10 Downing Street with smiles on their faces. The fact that they are walking up Downing Street is a clear sign that they’ll still be in Johnson’s top team at the end of the day — though they may change jobs.Chancellor Sajid Javid, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, Home Secretary Priti Patel, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland and International Development Secretary Alok Sharma have all entered Number 10 through the famous black door.Ireland’s Coveney Thanks Smith (10:45 a.m.)Simon Coveney, Ireland’s deputy prime minister, sent a message of support to Julian Smith, who won the respect of politicians in Dublin and Belfast for his role in restarting power-sharing in Northern Ireland last month (See 9.25 a.m).Coveney described Smith as “effective” at “a time of real challenge and risk” and said the restoration of the government in Northern Ireland would not have been possible without his leadership.Smith’s replacement will have to work fast to build up trust on both sides of the border. Trade arrangements on the island of Ireland, and the continuation of the peace process, will come under strain in ongoing negotiations on the U.K.’s future partnership with the EU.Morgan Leaves Cabinet of Own Volition (10:30 a.m.)Nicky Morgan told Bloomberg that she’s left the cabinet of her own volition, in a move that had been widely expected. She stepped down from the House of Commons at the general election, but Johnson appointed her to the House of Lords and persuaded her to stay on in her role as Culture Secretary until the reshuffle.Morgan’s successor will inherit a headache in the government’s decision to allow Huawei Technologies Co. to be involved in the U.K.’s 5G telecom networks: there’s growing opposition to the decision among rank-and-file Conservative members of Parliament.Cox Quits at PM’s Request (10:25 a.m.)Attorney General Geoffrey Cox confirmed he has been forced out of the cabinet by Johnson, publishing a letter to the prime minister in which he said he was “writing to resign that office, as you requested.”Cox, who provided often controversial legal advice to the government as first Theresa May, then Johnson, tried to get Brexit through Parliament, said he had sought to give “candid and independent” guidance to ministers.He also used the letter to remind the prime minister that he had introduced him at the launch of his campaign to be Tory leader last summer, underlining the turnaround in the relationship between the two men.Villiers Confirms She’s Been Fired (10:10 a.m.)Theresa Villiers confirmed she’s been fired as environment secretary in a post on Facebook listing her achievements in office, including publishing “the most important Environment Bill for decades.”“What the Prime Minister giveth, the Prime Minister taketh away,” Villiers wrote. “Just over six months ago, I was delighted to be invited by the Prime Minister to return to government after three years on the backbenches. This morning he told me that I need to make way for someone new.”Johnson Ousts Business Secretary Leadsom (10 a.m.)Prominent Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom confirmed she’s been fired from Boris Johnson’s Cabinet and will no longer serve in his government.Leadsom, 56, twice ran for leader of the Tory party and had been business secretary in Johnson’s government since July. Her resignation from Theresa May’s Cabinet last year helped to precipitate the former prime minister’s downfall, which paved the way for Johnson to take over.McVey Fired From Cabinet (9:55 a.m.)Esther McVey has been fired as housing minister, she said on Twitter, before pledging her continuing support to the government.“I’m very sorry to be relieved of my duties as Housing Minister,” she wrote. “I’m very grateful to the Prime Minister for having given me the opportunity to serve in his government & he will continue to have my support from the back benches.”McVey, a prominent Brexiteer, was appointed to the role by Johnson when he took office in July.Smith Confirms He’s Left Cabinet (9:40 a.m.)Julian Smith confirmed by phone that he’s been sacked as Northern Ireland Secretary, clarifying his Tweet earlier suggesting that was the case (see 9:35 a.m.)Smith Suggests He’s Been Fired (9:25 a.m.)Julian Smith indicated on Twitter he’s been dismissed as Northern Ireland Secretary.“Serving the people of Northern Ireland has been the biggest privilege. I am extremely grateful to Boris Johnson for giving me the chance to serve this amazing part of our country,” Smith wrote. “The warmth & support from people across NI has been incredible. Thank you so much.”Nightmare on Downing Street as Team Johnson Fears Brexit MutinySmith appears to have been sacked from the role despite being credited with bringing the opposing parties in Northern Ireland together to restart the province’s power-sharing executive last month after a three-year hiatus.Tory Party’s Challenge With Women (8:45 a.m.)While Boris Johnson plans to promote more women to junior roles in Thursday’s government reshuffle, a look at the makeup of the Parliamentary Conservative Party shows the challenge it faces in pushing women up through the ranks.While a record 87 women were elected Conservative Members of Parliament in December’s election, that’s still just 24% of the party’s 365 MPs. The opposition Labour Party, by contrast, has 104 women among its 202 MPs.Currently, seven out of the Cabinet’s 22 full members are women; of the 32 ministers who attend Cabinet (including full members), 8 are women.Pickles: Reshuffle Vital for Getting Things Done (Earlier)Former Conservative Party chairman Eric Pickles urged Boris Johnson to select people who can deliver on policies by effectively running their departments, rather than just because they are good media performers.“Who can get things done? You can be the greatest communicator in the world, but if you can’t get things done you’re not that much use to a government,” Pickles told Sky News. “The big question is what is the government going to be like for Boris over the next two years, because ff he gets this reshuffle wrong, he isn’t really going to be able to change very much.”Meanwhile Tobias Ellwood, Tory chairman of the House of Commons Defence Committee, said the prime minister needs to ensure there are dissenting voices around the cabinet table. “A good confident prime minister needs people round the table who will take collective responsibility but also tell perhaps the things he doesn’t want to hear,” he told Sky News.Earlier:Women Set for Junior Jobs in Johnson’s U.K. Government ReshuffleJohnson Heralds U.K. ‘Golden Age’ as He Pushes On With Brexxit–With assistance from Thomas Penny.To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net;Joe Mayes in London at jmayes9@bloomberg.net;Jessica Shankleman in London at jshankleman@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tim Ross at tross54@bloomberg.net, Stuart BiggsFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.