Andrea Leadsom appeared to deliver a veiled barb as she was sacked in Boris Johnson's cabinet reshuffle.
The outgoing Business Secretary said she would return to the backbenches and work to ensure "everyone is treated with dignity and respect."
In a string of tweets, she thanked her staff at the department for Business, Energy, Innovation and Skills, where she has worked since being replaced as Commons leader by Jacob Rees-Mogg in May.
She wrote: "It has been a real privilege to serve in Government for the last six years, and in BEIS for six months. I now look forward to focusing on my constituents and on my 20+ year campaign to see every baby get the best start in life.
“I’m particularly proud of my work in BEIS on net zero and the #CountDowntoCOP and on making the U.K. the best place in the world to work and to grow a business. Huge thanks to my brilliant team in BEIS
“I will continue from the back benches to work to ensure everyone is treated with dignity and respect.”
Earlier Ms Leadsom had maintained a stony silence as she got in her ministerial car on the way to Parliament this morning.
It came as the Prime Minister was expected to cull a string of women from his top team in his first reshuffle since December's election landslide.
Environment secretary Theresa Villiers and business secretary Andrea Leadsom were expected to get the chop and be replaced with other women.
Junior ministerial jobs were set to have a 50/50 gender balance - but few expected much change to the seven women out of 22 round the Cabinet table.
Ms Leadsom and Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg refused to answer questions as they left their homes this morning - while sackings took place in the PM's Commons office.
Mr Rees-Mogg had been tipped to keep his job despite causing outrage with remarks about the “common sense” of Grenfell families during the election.
Junior defence minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan and backbencher Suella Braverman - both leading Brexiteers - were expected to get promotions while Gillian Keegan, currently Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s bag carrier, was also set to get a foot up the ladder.
A No 10 source said: “The Prime Minister wants this reshuffle to set the foundations for Government now and in the future. He wants to promote a generation of talent that will be promoted further in the coming years."
But his new broom faced being overshadowed by a row over who funded his £15,000 Caribbean holiday.
Labour called for a standards probe into the Prime Minister after he claimed Tory donor David Ross, co-founder of Carphone Warehouse, funded the Mustique villa where he stayed with girlfriend Carrie Symonds.
Millionaire Mr Johnson declared the freebie trip yesterday in the latest Commons register of interests.
But Mr Ross made a bombshell intervention last night- insisting he did not actually pay for the villa, he just helped arrange it with a phone call.
Shadow cabinet office minister Jon Trickett said: “ Boris Johnson must come clean about who has paid for his luxury trip. If he fails to do so, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards should step in and make him fess up.”
