The cabinet is “made of people” – who mostly attended paid private schools

Mr. Sunak continued the trend set Boris Johnson and Liz Truss A new analysis shows that the majority of Cabinet positions are filled by people who received their education in fee-paying schools.

About 65% of the new Cabinet were independent school-educated, including Mr Sunak, who attended Winchester College, along with three of his senior colleagues: the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (Charterhouse School in Surrey), Foreign Secretary James Cleverley (Colfe’s School in Greenwich, south-east London) and Home Secretary Suella Braverman (Heathfield School in Pinner, north-west London).

The proportion is broadly similar to Ms Truss’ cabinet (68%) and Mr Johnson’s first cabinet (64%), but well above the level of Theresa May’s cabinet in 2016 (30%).

This is also higher than David Cameron’s cabinet in 2015 (50%) and well above Tony Blair’s 32% and Gordon Browncabinets of ministers, although in 2010 in the conservative-liberal-democratic coalition it was close to 62%.

The analysis was published by social mobility charity The Sutton Trust and it also shows that almost a quarter (23%) of Mr Sunak’s cabinet went to a comprehensive school and one in 10 attended a grammar school.

Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, Transport Minister Mark Harper and – perhaps symbolically – Education Minister Gillian Keegan were among those who attended the comprehensive debate.

Sir Peter Lample, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: “Rishi Sunak faces unprecedented challenges when he lands at No.10.

“In his new cabinet, 65% went to private schools – more than nine times the rate of the general population – and 45% went to Oxbridge, more than double the average for all MPs.

“Despite the fact that his cabinet is slightly more representative than that of Truss, Tuesday’s appointments show how uneven the opportunities to occupy the most prestigious positions remain.

“Using UK talent regardless of their background must be a priority.”

Mr Sunak continues the tradition of nearly every British Prime Minister since the Second World War having studied at Oxford University.

The only exception is Gordon Brown, who studied at the University of Edinburgh.