Three ministers "burst into tears" in front of David Cameron when the prime minister fired them, according to The Spectator.

In an analysis piece on this week's cabinet reshuffle published in the next edition of the magazine, political editor James Forsyth writes:

David Cameron has always nurtured a deep dislike of reshuffles, and the last week won’t have helped. The result might strengthen the government; but the process was as ghastly as the Prime Minister expected. He sought to be gentlemanly about things, publicising the promoted while granting the demoted privacy. Even so, I understand, three ministers burst into tears in front of him when he was delivering the bad news.

The prime minister began his reshuffle by telling those that he was getting rid of to hop it, before devoting the rest of Tuesday to calling people to Downing Street to undertake the more jolly task of promotions.

Given Cameron's criticism of Ed Miliband for not being "butch" enough today, the three unnamed weepy ministers may struggle to fight their way back into his good books.

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