Some reaction is starting to filter through now from opposition parties.

Shadow secretary for Housing, Communities and Local Government, James Cleverly, writes on X: “So many sideways moves in this reshuffle.

“Starmer can’t claim it’s about promoting new talent, or about removing dead wood.

“So it can only be that he put people into the wrong jobs last year.”

David Lammy’s has just provided his reaction to his new appointment as deputy prime minster, a post he takes over following the resignation of his colleague, Angela Rayner.

He says in an X post: “It is the honour of my life to be appointed Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary by Keir Starmer.

“Ever since I was a boy growing up in Tottenham, I’ve been determined to help make this country fairer, safer and better off.”

Lammy also gives a nod to his predecessor, praising Rayner for the “tremendous job” she did in government.

Earlier, we reported that the newly-appointed foreign secretary was heading to Downing Street from her constituency in Yorkshire.

Cooper, home secretary until just a few hours ago, has just been spotted arriving at No 10.

Cooper will be put to the test as foreign secretary – and quite soonpublished at 18:20 British Summer Time

James Landale
Diplomatic correspondent

Yvette Cooper’s appointment means the UK has now had no fewer than six foreign secretaries in the last five years:

• David Lammy
• David Cameron
• James Cleverly
• Liz Truss
• and Dominic Raab

This merry-go-round at the top of British diplomacy will dismay allies who have long complained about the ever-changing stream of new British foreign ministers.

Not only does it mean relationships have to continually be rebuilt, but it also adds to a sense of inconsistency in UK foreign policy.

Cooper has some foreign experience – I travelled with her to Iraq last year as she sought to tackle illegal migration at source.

But she has fewer relationships than Lammy in Washington; unlike him, she is not a friend of the US Vice-President JD Vance.

And she inherits wars in Ukraine and the Middle East where the diplomacy is complex and nuanced and she will have her work out getting up to speed.

Within days, she will attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York where the UK is expected to recognise a Palestinian state unless Israel meets conditions.

A tough task for any novice foreign secretary.

Among those with the most extensive government experience in cabinet, Yvette Cooper will move from the post of home secretary to foreign secretary.

First elected as an MP in Labour’s 1997 landslide victory, she served as a junior minister in Tony Blair’s government, as well as Work and Pensions Secretary and chief secretary to the Treasury under Gordon Brown.

While Labour was out of office, she served in shadow cabinets under Ed Miliband and Keir Starmer, and lost out on a leadership bid to Jeremy Corbyn in 2015.

Since returning to government last July, she has had the tough task of overseeing Labour’s immigration policy and efforts to reduce small boats crossing the Channel.

She has also faced difficult questions about policing and the government’s counter-terror approach in the aftermath of the Southport attack.

This summer’s wave of protests outside asylum hotels has also led to renewed pressure on the government to be speed up on its plans to end their use by 2029.

Chris Mason
Political editor

The new Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is returning from her constituency in Yorkshire, the BBC understands, and is expected in Downing Street later this evening.

Nabiha Ahmed
Live reporter

It’s been a rather exhilarating end to the work week for those eagerly monitoring the PM’s cabinet reshuffle.

The shake-up follows the resignation of Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister, housing secretary and deputy Labour Party leader earlier this afternoon.

Here are the most recent moves:

• Pat McFadden has been appointed secretary of state for Work and Pensions
• Steve Reed, former environment secretary, takes up Rayner’s old post as housing secretary
• Emma Reynolds will replace Reed as environment secretary
• Peter Kyle becomes business secretary, previously held by Jonathan Reynolds
• Instead, Jonathan Reynolds will become the new government chief whip
• Liz Kendall will take his old post as science secretary
• Lisa Nandy will remain culture secretary, despite months of briefing against her
• Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves retains her role as chancellor

This afternoon, Starmer made sweeping changes to the government’s top jobs. In case you missed those developments, here’s what happened earlier:

• David Lammy has been appointed as the new deputy prime minister, in addition to being made justice secretary
• Yvette Cooper has taken his old post as foreign secretary
• Shabana Mahmood becomes home secretary
• Ian Murray is no longer secretary of state for Scotland, and has expressed his disappointment. It’ll be Douglas Alexander who now takes up the role
• Lucy Powell, who was leader of the House of Commons, has also left the government. We now know that she’ll be replaced by Alan Campbell

We’ll be updating this page if any new updates come in – stick with us.

The new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has arrived at Downing Street after being promoted from justice secretary.

She smiled as she walked up to No 10, but didn’t speak to reporters.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Rachel Reeves is staying in post as chancellor.

We’ll have details of any more moves with you as we get them – stay with us.

We’re still seeing how Starmer’s shake-up of the cabinet is playing out. But this shuffle comes just days after the PM made significant changes to his top team.

Aiming to hit the ground running after summer recess, the PM announced a mini-reshuffle that saw him reshape his No 10 staff to focus on “delivery, delivery, delivery”.

This, he told the BBC on Monday, was to kick off “phase two” of his government.

Here’s a summary of those changes:

• Darren Jones, Rachel Reeves’ former number two at the Treasury, was brought into the new senior role of chief secretary to the prime minister; he’s now in charge of day-to-day delivery of the PM’s priorities

• Former Treasury official Dan York Smith has been appointed Starmer’s principal private secretary

• Ex-Bank of England deputy governor Baroness Shafik is the PM’s new chief economic adviser.

• Tim Allan, a former aide to Tony Blair, has returned to government as an executive director of communications.

Read more about the changes to Starmer’s top team here.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Peter Kyle is becoming the new business secretary, a position previously held by Jonathan Reynolds.

Liz Kendall is likely to replace him as science secretary.

Lisa Nandy will remain culture secretary despite months of briefing against her.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey has urged Starmer to “grab the bull by the horns and confront the real issues” as opposed to moving people “around the cabinet table”.

“If Keir Starmer thinks a reshuffle will solve anything he is learning the wrong lessons from the calamity Conservatives,” he says on X.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Steve Reed is set to replace Angela Rayner as housingsecretary.

He was previously environment secretary.

We’ve just spotted David Lammy walking up to Downing Street.

As we’ve been reporting – he has just been appointed the new deputy prime minister in addition to justice secretary.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Pat McFadden will become secretary of state for Work and Pensions in a new department incorporating the skills brief which currently sits with the Department for Education.

He was previously a Cabinet Office minister.

Mahmood’s appointment signals focus on immigration and asylumpublished at 16:19 British Summer Time

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Shabana Mahmood’s appointment as home secretary is the most significant of the trio of big moves, and a clear signal that the government sees dealing with illegal immigration and asylum as one of its biggest priorities.

That was Yvette Cooper’s view too, but there was a sense among some – not all – in Downing Street that she had not done enough to grip the issue.

Mahmood has a reputation among Labour MPs as (relatively-speaking, in Labour terms) a hardliner on immigration.

One Labour MP said as rumours swirled about her possible move this afternoon that appointing Mahmood was the “only way we win the next election on law and order”.

Mahmood told The Times, external in 2023 that Labour needed to get over its “queasiness” about talking tough on immigration: “I’ve always said we’ve all got to be more comfortable talking about immigration.”

She added: “In the commentariat, among very politically engaged people, there’s a sort of assumption about who is motivated by immigration as an electoral issue.

“My constituency experience is that, actually, that’s not got very much to do with race. I represent a very diverse constituency that’s 70% non-white, and immigration comes up as an issue that my voters who are black or Asian and from other ethnic minorities want to talk about.”

It’s a fast-paced Friday as the PM reshuffles his cabinet following the resignation of Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister, housing secretary and deputy Labour Party leader earlier this afternoon.

Here’s a look at all of Westminster’s moves since then:

• David Lammy has been appointed as the new deputy prime minister, in addition to being made justice secretary
• Yvette Cooper has taken his old post as foreign secretary
• Shabana Mahmood becomes home secretary
• Ian Murray is no longer secretary of state for Scotland, and has expressed his disappointment
• Lucy Powell, who was leader of the House of Commons, has also left the government

We’re waiting to hear about what other moves will be made. The latest will be right here – stick with us.

And, if you need a refresh on Starmer’s cabinet, you can find a full look at the postings right here.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

David Lammy will be deputy prime minister in addition to justice secretary.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

The BBC has confirmed that Yvette Cooper will be appointed foreign secretary.

Shabana Mahmood will become home secretary.

This is the first time that all three great offices of state – the most senior and historically important cabinet positions – have been held by women.

Rachel Reeves is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, while Mahmood and Cooper are now home secretary and foreign secretary, respectively.

Oscar Bentley
Political reporter

Angela Rayner is the fifth minister to leave from Keir Starmer’s government due to some sort of personal controversy.

• Louise Haigh – resigned as transport secretary last November after it was revealed she had pled guilty to fraud by false representation in 2014, when she incorrectly told police her mobile phone had been stolen after being mugged
• Tulip Siddiq – resigned as City minister in January after ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus said it was “regrettable” she had not been more alert to the “potential reputational risks” of ties to her aunt, the deposed Bangladeshi leader Sheikh Hasina
• Andrew Gwynne – sacked as health minister in February after it was revealed he had sent a string of offensive, abusive and sexist messages to a WhatsApp group
• Rushanara Ali – resigned as homelessness minister in August amid criticism of raising the rent on a property she owned after evicting the current tenants. She said she had been planning to sell the house, but relisted it for rent because it hadn’t sold
• Angela Rayner – resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary today after being found to have broken the ministerial code by failing to seek correct tax advice when buying her flat in Hove

In total, the Labour government has seen 11 people leave since the general election- including others such as Anneliese Dodds who resigned as international development minister and minister for women over cuts to the international aid budget.