Can Boris Johnson’s new faces help him deliver on old promises?

The Tory leader's reshuffle was ruthless but the challenge is to create a post-Covid recovery and prove levelling up' and global Britain' aren't mere slogans

For ministers who trooped into Downing Street on Wednesday it was hardly the warmest of welcomes. As the promoted, sacked and sidelined came and went, four armed policemen stared grimly through the black gates while anti-government protestors blared out music from a large speaker on the pavement outside.

Road to Nowhere was one song that rang out down Whitehall, The Lunatics have taken over the Asylum followed. Nearby, the anti-Brexit activist Steve Bray was in full cry, confronting the new foreign secretary Liz Truss within minutes of her elevation, shouting: So you are the new minister for pork pies."