David Cameron has made a shock return to government after Rishi Sunak appointed him as his new Foreign Secretary.
The ex-PM’s dramatic comeback was announced on Monday morning, shortly after Suella Braverman was sacked as home secretary, triggering a reshuffle.
Her post was taken up by James Cleverly, with the former Tory leader taking the vacancy at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
Downing Street announced that Mr Cameron would accept a peerage and become Lord Cameron, allowing him to serve in government.
He will be the first Foreign Secretary to sit in the upper chamber since Lord Carrington served under Margaret Thatcher between 1979 and 1982.
He is also the first prime minister to return to government since Alec Douglas-Home in 1970.
READ MORE: Suella Braverman sacked as Home Secretary as reshuffle expected
The former Tory leader, who resigned in 2016 after voters opted to leave the EU in the Brexit referendum, said he wanted to help Mr Sunak “deliver the security and prosperity our country needs.”
The appointment was blasted by political opponents.
Labour’s David Lammy called it a “last gasp act of desperation from a government devoid of talent and ideas.”
The SNP’s Stephen Flynn said it was "truly remarkable" that MPs would not be able to scrutinise the work of the new Foreign Secretary given the "huge international unrest, not least in Ukraine and Gaza.”
As Lord Cameron can only take questions from peers, it will be up to his junior ministers to answer Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) questions in the Commons.
Truly remarkable that during a time of huge international unrest, not least in Ukraine and Gaza, the House of Commons will not be able to directly scrutinise the work of the actual Foreign Secretary.
— Stephen Flynn MP (@StephenFlynnSNP) November 13, 2023
The UK is not a serious country.
There was also some unhappiness from some MPs on the right of the party.
“How is it right that an unelected PM appoints an unelected foreign secretary?” one told the Times.
Former minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns said Mrs Braverman had been “sacked for speaking the truth”, and it was a “bad call by Rishi caving in to the left”.
READ MORE: Yousaf welcomes Braverman sacking as Scottish politicians react
Lord Cameron has kept a low profile since standing down. However, he was caught up in a lobbying scandal two years ago when he was reported to have made $10 million working for Greensill Capital before the company collapsed in March.
His role only emerged after Greensill collapsed in March 2021 due to its exposure to GFG Alliance, a group of companies controlled by the steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta.
Lord Cameron lobbied the UK Government to act as a new investor for the firm, texting ministers including Mr Sunak, as well as Boris Johnson’s senior adviser Sheridan Westlake, and deputy Bank of England governor Sir Jon Cunliffe.
The former PM insisted he had “acted in good faith at all times.”
He also returned to the headlines last month when he savaged Mr Sunak’s decision to scrap the HS2 high-speed train line between Birmingham and Manchester.
Lord Cameron said the decision “will help to fuel the views of those who argue that we can no longer think or act for the long term as a country; that we are heading in the wrong direction”.
Today’s decision on HS2 is the wrong one. It will help to fuel the views of those who argue that we can no longer think or act for the long-term as a country; that we are heading in the wrong direction.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) October 4, 2023
HS2 was about investing for the long-term, bringing the country together,…
In a statement released on Monday morning, the new Foreign Secretary said that while he “may have disagreed with some individual decisions” it was clear to him “that Rishi Sunak is a strong and capable Prime Minister, who is showing exemplary leadership at a difficult time.”
Lord Cameron added: “I want to help him to deliver the security and prosperity our country needs and be part of the strongest possible team that serves the United Kingdom and that can be presented to the country when the General Election is held.”
The comeback was welcomed by former Scottish Tory leader, Ruth Davidson.
“There's going to be a ton of snark surrounding this, of course there is,” the Baroness tweeted.
“But I think it's a good appointment. I've never understood the British tradition of putting ex-PMs out to pasture instead of using the enormous experience they've accumulated in office.”
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