Very few would have bet on David Cameron staging a return to government after Brexit and the Greensill scandal, and the dramatic development runs counter to Rishi Sunak’s vow to break with the “30 year status quo”.
The former PM is being made a peer so that he can serve as foreign secretary, No10 confirmed.
Along with Suella Braverman’s dismissal, it was the most eye-catching feature of a pre-election reshuffle that harks back to a more future successful era for the Conservatives.
Brexit, arguably Britain’s biggest foreign policy blunder since the Suez misadventure in 1956, was the poisoned gift bequeathed by Mr Cameron to the nation after he called the 2016 referendum in a bid to heal Tory divisions.
Instead he opened up divisions in the country at large that remain unhealed, and economic damage that is still being calculated.
It is all the more surprising after Mr Sunak, in his leader’s speech to the Tory conference last month, pledged to break with decades of political consensus including the 2010-2016 Cameron premiership.
The speech included the curtailment of the HS2 high-speech railway - which a disappointed Mr Cameron said would “make it much harder to build consensus for any future long-term projects”.
In a statement on Monday, the former PM 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.
“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,” he said.
Pat McFadden MP, Labour’s National Campaign Coordinator, 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.
“This puts to bed the Prime Minister’s laughable claim to offer change from 13 years of Tory failure.”
When the shock sight of Mr Cameron marching up Downing Street popped up on TV screens this morning, Labour’s shadow health secretary Wes Streeting tweeted: “Maybe David Cameron is just there lobbying on behalf of a client?”
That was a scornful reference to the collapse of a financial firm run by Lex Greensill. Mr Cameron was cleared by a watchdog and MPs after reportedly lobbying then-Chancellor Sunak to support Greensill Capital through the Government’s Covid support fund.
But some Tories expressed delight.
Theresa May, Mr Cameron's successor in No10, congratulated him. "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 said.
Former Cabinet minister Baroness Warsi messaged: “Welcome back David. If ever there was a time for balanced, thoughtful, compassionate leadership it is now. Your country needs you.”
