Ex-PM Cameron returns to government as Sunak sacks Braverman

David Cameron made a dramatic return to frontline politics as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tried to reset his government before the general election expected next year.

The former prime minister has become Foreign Secretary, with a seat in the Lords, as Mr Sunak risked a row with the Tory right after sacking controversial home secretary Suella Braverman.

Lord Cameron said he wanted to be “part of the strongest possible team” that “can be presented to the country when the general election is held”.

James Cleverly shifted from the Foreign Office to replace Mrs Braverman as Home Secretary.

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Lord Cameron’s appointment was a massive shock in Westminster, not just because of the return of a former prime minister to government – the first since Alec Douglas-Home in the 1970s – but also because of his views on China.

During the Cameron administration there was a “golden era” of UK-China co-operation, something Mr Sunak described as “naive” last year following growing tensions with Beijing.

Lord Cameron has also been critical of Mr Sunak’s decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2, while the Prime Minister used his Tory conference speech to distance himself from the legacy of his predecessors.

But the former prime minister made it clear he backs Mr Sunak and will work with him to help the Tories win the general election, which is expected next year.

The new Foreign Secretary said: “Though I may have disagreed with some individual decisions, it is clear to me that Rishi Sunak is a strong and capable Prime Minister, who is showing exemplary leadership at a difficult time.”

The Prime Minister’s decision to jettison Mrs Braverman followed inflammatory comments suggesting homelessness is sometimes a “lifestyle choice” and an unauthorised newspaper article criticising the way police have handled pro-Palestinian “mobs”.

Sacking one of the leading figures on the Tory right could pose difficulties for the Prime Minister as he seeks to get his party united behind him for the election.

Ominously for the Prime Minister, Mrs Braverman said she will have “more to say in due course” about her exit.

Former minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns said Mrs Braverman was “sacked for speaking the truth” and it was a “bad call by Rishi caving in to the left”.

Former Tory treasurer Lord Cruddas also criticised Mr Sunak’s actions, saying: “The coup is complete, remain has won and democracy has lost.”

In another sign Mr Sunak is looking ahead to the election, Richard Holden replaced Greg Hands as Conservative Party chairman following a string of by-election losses and a mauling in council contests during his nine months in charge.

In other moves:

– Therese Coffey, who was deputy prime minister under Liz Truss, was replaced as environment secretary by Steve Barclay;

– Victoria Atkins replaced Mr Barclay as Health Secretary;

– Laura Trott was promoted to Treasury Chief Secretary;

– Former chief secretary John Glen became Paymaster General; and

– Mr Hands was appointed a minister in the Department for Business and Trade.

In the junior ranks, Will Quince and Neil O’Brien both quit as health ministers, while veteran schools minister Nick Gibb left his post, Jesse Norman departed from the Department for Transport and George Freeman stepped down as science minister.

Rachel Maclean was sacked as housing minister, with her departure noted by Cabinet minister Kemi Badenoch, who described her as “excellent”.

Meanwhile Jeremy Quin quit as paymaster general rather than continue in another job amid reports he was offered the housing portfolio.

Despite pressure from some Tory MPs for a radical tax-cutting change in the approach to the economy, Jeremy Hunt remains as Chancellor ahead of next week’s autumn statement.