Boris Johnson’s cabinet ministers are no strangers to verbal contortion in the face of awkward questioning over his decision making.

So his former Northern Ireland secretary will at least have been well-prepared for the grilling he faced from a schoolchild some 24 hours after being sacked by the PM in Thursday’s dramatic cabinet reshuffle.

Julian Smith has been lauded for self-effacing humour in relating the awkward encounter at a school in his constituency of Skipton and Ripon on Friday.

During the visit, a child asked him if he knew Boris Johnson. When Mr Smith replied that he did, the child said: “Wow. When did you last meet him?”

“Er, yesterday,” came the response from Mr Smith, who had last been seen exiting the Commons shortly after being sacked by Mr Johnson.

Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Show all 17 1 /17 Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Sajid Javid Resigned as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Javid’s departure comes just one month before a crucial budget, intended to chart the course for the new government – and makes him the shortest-serving chancellor for more than 50 years Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Rishi Sunak Promoted from Chief Secretary to the Treasury to Chancellor of the Exchequer after the dramatic resignation of Sajid Javid Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Esther McVey Sacked as housing minister AFP via Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Andrea Leadsom Sacked as business secretary EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Changed role: Alok Sharma Appointed business secretary (previously international development secretary). He has also been put in charge of the UK’s COP26 climate change summit PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Attorney General Geoffrey Cox Resigned as the government's most senior law officer AFP via Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Suella Braverman Appointed Attorney General and she will attend cabinet EPA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Theresa Villiers Sacked as environment secretary PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: George Eustice Appointed environment, food and rural affairs secretary. He was a farming and fisheries minister Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Changed role: Anne-Marie Trevelyan Appointed international development secretary (previously parliamentary under-secretary for defence) Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Julian Smith Sacked as Northern Ireland secretary Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Brandon Lewis Appointed Secretary of Northern Ireland Reuters Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Stephen Barclay Appointed chief secretary to the Treasury PA Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out In: Oliver Dowden Appointed culture secretary, succeeding Nicky Morgan Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Chris Skidmore Sacked as eucation minister Getty Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: Nus Ghani Sacked as transport minister Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament/CC BY 3.0 Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle: Who's in and who's out Out: George Freeman Sacked as transport minister Getty

The youngster was not done yet, however, adding: “Really! How was it?”

“Er, er, er ... Great, it was just great,” Mr Smith described himself as saying.

While Sajid Javid’s shock resignation dominated headlines in Thursday’s reshuffle, of all the ministers given marching orders it was arguably the departure of Mr Smith – voted “Minister of the Year” by The Spectator only two weeks before – that inspired the most notable plaudits for his efforts while in office.

Mr Smith won fans among both unionists and nationalists during his eight months in the role, as he helped to restore power-sharing to Stormont and navigated perilous obstacles on the government’s route to drafting a Brexit withdrawal agreement.

His departure, which was widely attributed to his dissent over the prospects of a no-deal Brexit, dismayed the Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, who described him as “one of Britain’s finest politicians of our time”, while Northern Ireland’s first minister, Arlene Foster, praised his “dedication” to the role.

Mr Smith was not the only former minister facing awkward exchanges on the morning after the reshuffle.