May and Gove on national security advisor David Frost

Theresa May asked why the new national security advisor was a “political appointee with no proven experience in national security”.

The former PM praised Mark Sedwill, who announced he was stepping down from the post at the weekend, for “extraordinary public services over many years”.

Michael Gove, who served in Mrs May’s cabinet, replied that previous post holders were not all “steeped in the security world”, but the PM had chosen David Frost who was “appropriate to the needs of the hour”