A senior North East Tory MP who backed Boris Johnson for PM just last week has indicated he’s out of his role as Levelling Up Secretary.

Simon Clarke, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, has signalled that he will no longer be Levelling Up Secretary, a role he held for just under 50 days under Liz Truss.

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Mr Clarke, who was Chief Secretary to the Treasury under Rishi Sunak when he was Chancellor, tweeted on Tuesday afternoon: “It has been a great privilege to serve as Secretary of State @luhc, working alongside some terrific people to #LevelUp our communities, just as it was before that as Chief Secretary @hmtreasury.

“It has only been while holding these positions that I’ve come to appreciate the full weight of responsibility that ministers bear, and we are deeply fortunate to be supported in this by our civil servants and special advisers (and never forget them on days like today).

"My loyalty to @trussliz and @BorisJohnson was sincere to the last and I appreciate deeply the opportunity they gave me. But I meant every word that I said yesterday: @Conservatives  must unite under our new PM and should all work to ensure @RishiSunak succeeds. He has my support."

Clarke also removed his role as Levelling Up Secretary from his Twitter bio although is yet to share a formal letter of resignation.

On Friday Simon Clarke had come out in a joint statement with Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, throwing their support behind Boris Johnson to be the next Tory leader, before the former PM decided not to stand over the weekend.

It comes as a host of ministers have resigned from their roles as Rishi Sunak looks set to bring in sweeping changes to the government’s top team.

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Business Secretary Jacob Rees Mogg and Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis were among the first to quit.

Other North East cabinet minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan, MP for Berwick-upon-Tweet and Transport Secretary, is yet to indicate if she is out of her job.

The pound soared and the cost of Government borrowing dropped as ministers appointed by former prime minister Liz Truss resigned en masse.

Sterling gained more than a cent against the dollar within the space of an hour as several ministers stepped down.

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