Michael Gove has been excluded from the top secret National Security Council as part of a major slimming down of Number 10's operations by Boris Johnson.

The number of policy committees reporting into the new Prime Minister has been slashed from 24 under his predecessor Theresa May to just six, with far few ministers on each one.

Downing Street said the new slimmed down operation would keep the Government "focused on its core priority of delivering Brexit, that actions and accountabilities are clear and that it can respond quickly".

The new list shows the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – Mr Gove's new role in Mr Johnson's Government - is no longer among the ministers who can attend the council, which is one of the six committees to have survived the cull.

His predecessor David Lidington, who was also a minister in the Cabinet Office, sat on the council when the last list of its members was published in April.

Meetings of the National Security Council, which was set up in 2010, discuss state secrets and are attended by the heads of Britain's top intelligence agencies.

Its terms of reference are "to consider matters relating to national security, foreign policy, defence, international relations and development, resilience, energy and resource security".