September reshuffle expected in effort to stem faltering Tory poll ratings

Backbenchers and party activists are unimpressed by U-turns and dithering as public support continues to fall

Ministers are expecting a wide-ranging government reshuffle in September in which Boris Johnson will sack key figures who are judged to have underperformed in the Covid-19 crisis.

Cabinet sources said the move was now seen as inevitable. They believe sweeping changes will be made in an attempt to defuse mounting discontent on the Tory backbenches following a stream of U-turns and a fall in the party's poll ratings.