Former Conservative prime minister David Cameron has been named foreign secretary in a shock appointment as part of the Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle.
The stunning move will see the Tory grandee – who occupied No 10 between 2010 and 2016 – enter the Lords so he can take up one of the top jobs in government.
James Cleverly has been made home secretary after Suella Braverman was sacked by Mr Sunak over her unauthorised op-ed accusing the police of bias in handling pro-Palestinian protests.
A No 10 source said Mr Sunak had asked Ms Braverman “to leave government and she has accepted”, with Mr Cleverly moving from the Foreign Office to the Home Office.
The Conservatives said Mr Sunak is carrying out a wider reshuffle which “strengthens his team in government to deliver long-term decisions for a brighter future”.
Labour said the surprise return of Mr Cameron – who has criticised Mr Sunak the decision to scrap HS2 – made the Tory leader’s claim to be the change candidate “laughable”.
Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle expressed his frustration at Mr Cameron’s appointment – saying it was “especially important” that MPs were able to “scrutinise” the work of the Foreign Office during current international crises.
Sir Lindsay said he “looks forward” to hearing from the Sunak government how Lord Cameron will be “properly accountable to this House”.
Keir Starmer’s national campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden said: “A few weeks ago Rishi Sunak said David Cameron was part of a failed status quo – now he’s bringing him back as his life raft.”
The Liberal Democrats said Mr Cameron’s peerage should be blocked given his “shady past” – highlighting his central role in the Greensill lobbying scandal. Layla Moran said Mr Sunak’s move had the “stench of desperation”, adding: “Handing him a peerage makes a mockery of our honours system.”
David Cameron walking into No 10 on Monday morning
Mr Cameron’s work lobbying for government loans for the failed finance firm Greensill sparked a major scandal in 2021. The ex-Tory leader admitted he should have communicated with ministers via “formal channels” rather than through text and WhatsApp.
Lord Cameron strongly criticised Mr Sunak’s move to scrap HS2’s northern leg – saying the “wrong” decision meant a “once-in-a-generation opportunity was lost”.
The Cameron administration had hailed a “golden era” of UK-China co-operation – something Mr Sunak described as “naive” last year following rising tensions with Beijing.
But, in his first words in his new role, the new foreign secretary said that while “I may have disagreed with some individual decisions” made by Mr Sunak, he said the current Tory leader was “a strong and capable prime minister, who is showing exemplary leadership at a difficult time”.
Mr 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.”
David Cameron with his family as he leaves No 10 in 2016
Transport secretary Mark Harper said the decision to bring back Mr Cameron was “an excellent move” – with the Tory moderate describing the moderate ex-PM as “a team player, hugely experienced”.
Former Tory PM Theresa May also congratulated Mr Cameron on his return to government. “His immense experience on the international stage will be invaluable at this time of great uncertainty in our world. Looking forward to working together again!” she tweeted.
Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said Mr Cameron was a “highly intelligent, capable individual” – but warned that his return could push some voters to Reform, the successor to the Brexit Party. He described the sacking of Ms Braverman as a “mistake”.
And fellow Tory right-winger Sir Michael Fabricant complained that Mr Cameron “won’t be accountable to MPs other than before a select committee” – noting that he will not be allowed to make statements, answer urgent questions, or take part in foreign office questions in the Commons.
Boris Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries said the Cameron comeback “now opens the door for the rerun of [George] Osborne”. She tweeted: “He will want a safe seat, if such a thing exists and then into leader of the opposition slot. You heard it here first.”
Sunak warned of Tory ‘war’ as Suella Braverman sacked as home secretary
King Charles has handed Mr Cameron the “dignity of a Barony”, No 10 said on the hastily-awarded peerage that allows him to take up the foreign secretary role.
Mr Cameron becomes the 15th former prime minister to serve in a later government led by someone else, following in the footsteps of former Tory PMs Sir Alec Douglas-Home, Neville Chamberlain and Arthur Balfour.
The ex-PM has previously called Gaza “a prison camp” and criticised Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian enclave. On a visit to Turkey in 2010 , Mr Cameron said: “Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp.”
And in 2016, while still prime minister, he criticised Israel settlements in the West Bank. “What this government has consistently done and gone on doing is saying yes, we are supporters of Israel, but we do not support illegal settlements.”
The last image of Mr Cameron most voters will remember was outside No 10 after Brexit referendum, announcing his resignation the morning after Britons opted leave the EU – dashing the PM’s expectation that voters would want to remain part of the bloc.
He is also known for leading the coalition government with Nick Clegg and a resurgent Liberal Democrats, as he and Tory chancellor George Osborne embarked on an austerity programme that saw deep cuts to public services and welfare spending after the 2008 banking crash.
Meanwhile, responding to her sacking, Ms Braverman said: “It has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve as home secretary.” Ominously for Mr Sunak, she added: “I will have more to say in due course.”
In a sign of bitter divisions have been reignited, the former Tory minister Andrea Jenkyns said Ms Braverman had been “sacked for speaking the truth”. The right-winger said it was a “bad call by Rishi caving in to the left”.
