Dominic Raab could be put in charge of both the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development (DfID) under plans being considered as part of a post-Brexit reshuffle.

Whitehall insiders said that Boris Johnson was considering preserving DfID but scrapping its secretary of state and handing ministerial responsibility to the foreign secretary.

The Daily Mail reported yesterday that No 10 had abandoned a proposal to fold the department which deals with overseas aid into the Foreign Office, which was talked up by officials over the Christmas period as part of a wider reorganisation of the civil service.

The Times understands that a compromise which puts the foreign secretary in charge of the two existing ministries is under consideration. It would lead to questions about