Cameron puts a spy in his shadow cabinet

But senior colleagues paid the price for internal rows in the Tory leader's reshuffle.

Francis Maude, Hugo Swire and David Willetts – who was at the centre of party strife over grammar schools – were all demoted in favour of fresh-faced newlyelected MPs.

In answer to Gordon Brown's attempt to bring in outsiders to build a Government of "all the talents", he appointed Britain's former spy chief Dame Pauline Neville-Jones as Shadow security minister and Muslim lawyer Sayeeda Warsi to the high-profile community cohesion brief.

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Both will be nominated for working peerages so they can operate in Parliament. Dame Pauline, a career diplomat, is hugely respected in intelligence circles.

The Oxford graduate joined the diplomatic service and held postings in Singapore, Washington, and Bonn. She went on to head the Government's Joint Intelligence Committee and became political director of the Foreign Office.

Mr Cameron resisted demands from traditionalists for a lurch to the Right, promoting young 'Cameroons' while brushing aside calls for change in the top jobs.

His closest ally, George Osborne, remains Shadow chancellor as expected – and was also put in charge of the Tories' election campaign.

It was seen in Westminster as a sign that Mr Cameron is taking seriously the suggestion that Mr Brown may call an early poll.

David Davis stays as Shadow home secretary, Liam Fox retains the defence brief and William Hague remains Shadow foreign secretary, as well as taking on responsibility for overseeing policy announcements. All are popular with Tory grass-roots.

But three of the party's Young Turks from the 2005 election intake leapfrog over more experienced colleagues to join the top table.

Michael Gove, a leading member of the Cameroons, was the biggest winner, being promoted to the new schools and children brief, where he will shadow Ed Balls, one of Mr Brown's closest allies.

The former Times journalist is an elegant, articulate Commons and media performer and will be trusted to repair the damage wrought by the row over grammar schools policy.

Education spokesman Mr Willetts, whose speech criticising grammars led to Mr Cameron's biggest crisis to date, was demoted to shadow the less prestigious brief of innovation, universities and skills.

Shadow culture secretary and Mr Cameron's fellow Old Etonian Hugo Swire, who was forced into a U-turn last month after suggesting the Tories could scrap free museum admission, was ditched altogether in favour of Jeremy Hunt, another new modernising MP.

A publishing entrepreneur, Mr Hunt has demonstrated just the sort of social conscience – working shifts in hospitals, old people's homes and even as a dustman – that Mr Cameron wants to project.

Nick Herbert, also elected in 2005, becomes the party's second openly gay frontbencher as Shadow justice secretary, opposite Jack Straw.

He is seen as one of the Tories' most radical thinkers and played a major role in setting up the Countryside Alliance to campaign against the hunting ban and went on to found the right-leaning think tank Reform, and has floated far-reaching reforms of schools and hospitals.

Party chairman Francis Maude lost his job, having seen through some of Mr Cameron's controversial changes to party structure, such as the 'A-list' of favoured candidates. Mr Maude, who is replaced by the unflappable Caroline Spelman, survived in the low-profile Cabinet

Office brief. Mrs Spelman is a successful businesswoman who ran a family food and biotechnology firm.

She has spoken of the pain of being unable to conceive naturally, but had three children using IVF.

Philip Hammond was demoted from the work and pensions brief to be Mr Osborne's number two in the Treasury team, and is replaced by rising star Chris Grayling.

One of the first women MPs to back Mr Cameron, Theresa Villiers – another member of the 2005 intake – was promoted from Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury to take the transport portfolio.

Media-savvy new MP Grant Shapps – a member of Mr Cameron's 'no-tie brigade' – was made Shadow housing minister, where he will take on Yvette Cooper, another of the Prime Minister's key allies.

The reshuffle was designed to steady Tory nerves after a good first week in Downing Street for Mr Brown and internal tensions about the strategy for taking him on.

However, last night a poll showed Labour enjoying a four point 'bounce' since Mr Brown became Prime Minister last week.

The Populus survey for the Times put Labour on 37 per cent while the Tories were down two on 34 per cent.

Sayeeda Warsi, 36, appointed to the community cohesion brief, describes herself as a 'Northern, working-class roots, urban working mum'.

A British-born lawyer of Pakistani origin, the Leeds University graduate was the first Muslim woman to be selected by the Conservatives.

She gave up a £130,000 a year salary as a solicitor to fight the seat of Dewsbury at the 2005 election, but lost to Labour's Shahid Malik.

Despite her defeat, she served as a special adviser to former Tory leader Michael Howard on community relations and was appointed by Mr Cameron a vice chairman of the Conservative Party with specific responsibility for cities.

She was only 15 when she was taken to Pakistan and introduced to her husband Naeem, who she married at 19.

The couple now have a daughter, nine-year-old Aamna. She was recently named the most influential Asian woman in British politics by the BBC.

Dame Pauline Neville-Jones has been made homeland security minister to shadow Sir Alan West.

Britain's former spy chief is a steely career diplomat who is hugely respected in intelligence circles. The Oxford graduate has held Foreign Office postings in Singapore, Washington, and Bonn.

Dame Pauline went on to head the Government's Joint Intelligence Committee and became political director of the Foreign Office.

Described as the most formidable female diplomat this nation has produced, she has also worked as a BBC governor and chair of defence technology firm QinetiQ.