In a surprising turn of events, former Prime Minister David Cameron has returned to the UK government after controversial Home Secretary Suella Braverman was dismissed by acting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. This drastic cabinet reshuffle took place on Monday and marks Cameron’s return to politics after a seven-year absence.
Braverman’s dismissal came early Monday morning, following her inflammatory comments about the surveillance of pro-Palestinian protests in central London over the weekend. Her tenure had been plagued by scandals and divisive statements that had caused fractures within Sunak’s government for some time.
Subsequently, Sunak announced that he would bring Cameron back into active politics as the Foreign Secretary, in a surprising move that has few precedents in recent British political history.
Cameron, who served as Prime Minister from 2010 to 2016, resigned after the UK voted to leave the European Union in a referendum he himself called. His tenure marked the course of 13 years of Conservative government, but the self-inflicted chaos of the Brexit referendum and its aftermath plunged his party into years of instability from which it still struggles to emerge.
Number 10 Downing Street confirmed that James Cleverly, who was previously the Foreign Secretary, will assume Braverman’s position, opening up space for Cameron’s surprising return to the cabinet.
Braverman had held the position of Home Secretary under Sunak throughout his tenure at Downing Street, but her confrontational rhetoric towards migrants, protesters, the police, and even homeless people had caused divisions within the government and sparked speculation that she was planning a future leadership bid.
Braverman’s latest controversy arose when she accused the London police of applying a “double standard” in managing the protests in an op-ed in The Times, condemning a pro-Palestinian march that Number 10 Downing Street said had not been authorized by Sunak.
On Saturday, far-right counter-protesters clashed with the police in central London after Braverman labeled the pro-Palestinian demonstration as a “march of hate,” fueling tensions surrounding a gathering that took place on Armistice Day.
Braverman’s comments about the police and her strong criticism of Saturday’s pro-Palestinian demonstration drew criticism from figures across the political spectrum.