The Department of Trade and Industry’s demise is at the heart of a Whitehall shake-up that on Thursday saw three departments axed and a further three created, in reforms designed to send a reassuring signal to business.

Gordon Brown answered the perennial question “what is the Department of Trade and Industry for?” by splitting it down the middle. The prime minister was persuaded by intense business lobbying to drop plans to move energy in with environment and spread the rest of the DTI’s ragbag responsibilities round Whitehall.