David Cameron has returned to the government as the new Foreign Secretary, marking his first time sitting at the cabinet table for over seven years. This appointment is part of a cabinet reshuffle by Rishi Sunak, who has brought back several former ministers. Former Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom has taken on a junior role in the Department for Health and Social Care, while Damian Hinds has become a minister in the Department for Education, which he used to run.
Lord Cameron had stepped down as Prime Minister in 2016 and has been appointed a seat in the House of Lords to enable him to take up his new position. In a speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London on Monday night, Mr Sunak said he was “pleased to have appointed a new foreign secretary”. The move has been met with some opposition, with one backbencher, Dame Andrea Jenkyns, having already submitted a letter of no confidence in the Prime Minister.
Opposition parties have been quick to ask whether bringing back a Prime Minister who left office seven years ago is really the fresh start Mr Sunak claims to offer. Senior Labour MP Pat McFadden said Lord Cameron’s appointment “puts to bed the Prime Minister’s laughable claim to offer change from 13 years of Tory failure”, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said it “sounds like desperation”. The Lib Dems are also calling for Lord Cameron’s peerage to be blocked, referring to his lobbying for collapsed finance company Greensill Capital.
Lord Cameron has responded by reassuring the public that the Greensill affair was “in the past” and had been “dealt with”. He is committed to focusing on his role as Foreign Secretary and working with the Prime Minister to make the UK as secure and prosperous as possible in a difficult and dangerous world. Furthermore, at the time of his appointment, he spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, discussing the conflict in the Middle East, Israel’s right to self defense, and the need for humanitarian pauses to allow the safe passage of aid into Gaza.
The reshuffle has also seen Steve Barclay take over from Therese Coffey as environment secretary, with Treasury minister Victoria Atkins promoted to replace him as health secretary. Meanwhile, former transport minister Richard Holden has been appointed Tory party chairman, and Laura Trott becomes chief secretary to the Treasury, replacing John Glen
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