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David Cameron walking up Downing Street to be appointed foreign secretary was the twist no one expected – the character from the end of season one brought back for the finale.

The news eclipsed the departure of Suella Braverman – who pushed the limits of collective responsibility and was blamed by her own colleagues for inflaming protests over the weekend.

So, what does the surprise return of our former prime minister, seven years out of office, tell us about this government?

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You can see the argument that Rishi Sunak is bringing back a “big beast” to bolster his administration as it heads towards a difficult election. David Cameron has long experience in government, pulled off a surprise election victory in 2015 and has clout on the world stage at a time of global instability.

But this also looks like a shift in political direction – a swerve away from right-wing populism associated with the former home secretary and towards a traditional centre-right Toryism.

It has certainly cheered the party’s One Nation MPs, the often-sidelined remaining Cameroons who felt out in the cold during the Boris Johnson years. Damian Green, a leading member of this group, called his appointment a move to the “centre-right”.

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Other MPs in what could be called “blue wall” seats – those facing a challenge from the Liberal Democrats, and broadly not enamoured with Brexit or the Rwanda policy – also welcomed the appointment. Another former minister told me “the grown-ups are back in charge, Cameron is a class act”.

They added that what the home secretary was doing last week in taking on the Met police was “pure populism”. His appointment is likely to reflect concern about shoring up these blue wall seats.

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Former Prime Minister and newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Cameron walks outside 10 Downing Street
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David Cameron walks outside 10 Downing Street

But for that reason, it’s a move likely to infuriate the right of his party and its supporters. It could also raise questions about some of Sunak’s own instincts, given the prime minister has promised to “stop the boats”, has socially conservative views on gender, crime and migration, and still hopes to make his Rwanda scheme a reality.

One of Sunak’s supporters described it as a sign of “professionalism” after an all-too-obvious tug of war within the cabinet. Sunak is now not thought to be at risk of a leadership challenge, with an election on the horizon, and can choose the cabinet he wants after a period of having to placate parts of the party who backed him in the leadership contest.

Suella Braverman leaves her home
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Suella Braverman leaves her home this morning

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But the unelected Cameron comes with baggage. Most obviously, there is Brexit – having campaigned for Remain, he brought about our EU exit with all the messy consequences that dogged his successors. Those tensions have eased within the Conservative Party but have by no means disappeared.

Increasing suspicion of him on the right of the party will be his record on China, and the “golden age” he championed – now seen by many in government as a mistake, as China is regarded as presenting a major geo-political challenge for the UK.

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Theresa Villiers, a Brexiteer who served in David Cameron’s cabinet and is a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee, which recently published a highly critical report on the government’s China policy, told me MPs would have questions for him, saying: “I welcome David Cameron’s return. He is hugely talented and has much to offer government.

“The political landscape has changed dramatically since he resigned and MPs will want the assurance that his approach on issues such as Brexit and China will reflect where we are now, not where we were during the Cameron era in Downing Street. I’m sure he will be able to give that reassurance.”

This reshuffle is likely to be the last significant one before the general election. Previous prime ministers facing difficult electoral tests have brought back big beasts from the past – Gordon Brown with Lord Mandelson in 2008, before going on to lose the 2010 election 18 months later.

Sunak used his recent party conference speech to portray himself as the candidate of change – after 30 years of what he called 30 years of broken politics. He’s now relying on a key figure from the past to try and secure his survival.

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No 10 decline to say if Palestine will be recognised with Hamas in power

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No 10 decline to say if Palestine will be recognised with Hamas in power

The prime minister’s spokesman has refused eight times to confirm whether recognition of Palestine could go ahead if Hamas remain in power and the hostages are not released. 

Keir Starmer’s spokesman was questioned by journalists for the first time since the announcement last week that the UK will formally recognise the state in September – unless Israel meets certain conditions including abiding by a ceasefire and increasing aid.

The policy has been criticised by the families of UK hostages, campaigners and some Labour MPs, who argue it would reward Hamas and say it should be conditional on the release of the remaining hostages.

A senior Hamas politician, Ghazi Hamad, speaking to Al Jazeera, said at the weekend that major nations’ decision to recognise a Palestinian state “is one of the fruits of 7 October”.

Gaza latest: Trump pressed to recognise Palestinian state

The PM’s spokesman said on Monday: “The PM is clear that on 7 October, Hamas committed the worst act of terror in Israel’s history. That horror has continued since then.

“As the foreign secretary said over the weekend, Hamas are rightly pariahs who can have no role in Gaza’s future, there is a diplomatic consensus on that. Hamas must immediately release all hostages and have no role in the governance of Gaza.”

But asked whether removing Hamas from power and releasing hostages were conditions for statehood, he said a decision on recognition would be made at the UN General Assembly meeting in September, based on “an assessment of how far the parties have met the steps we have set out. No one side will have veto on recognition through their actions or inactions.”

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Up to 300 children could be evacuated from Gaza and given NHS treatment in the UK. The plans are reportedly set to be announced within weeks.

He added: “Our focus is on the immediate situation on the ground, getting more aid in to end the suffering in Gaza and supporting a ceasefire and a long-term peace for Israelis and Palestinians based a two-state solution.”

Starmer, who recalled his cabinet for an emergency meeting last week before setting out the new position, is following the lead of French president Emmanuel Macron, who first pledged to move toward recognising Palestinian statehood in April.

Read more:
New US plan for Gaza starting to emerge
Hamas responds to disarmament reports

Canada has also backed recognition if conditions are met, including by the Palestinian Authority.

The prime minister had previously said he would recognise a state of Palestine as part of a contribution to a peace process.

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Efforts to bring Gazan children to the UK for urgent medical treatment are set to be accelerated under new government plans.

In his announcement last Tuesday, he said: “We need to see at least 500 trucks entering Gaza every day. But ultimately, the only way to bring this humanitarian crisis to an end is through a long-term settlement.

“So we are supporting the US, Egyptian and Qatari efforts to secure a vital ceasefire. That ceasefire must be sustainable and it must lead to a wider peace plan, which we are developing with our international partners.

“I’ve always said we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process, at the moment of maximum impact for the two-state solution. With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act.”

Adam Rose, a lawyer acting for British families of hostages in Gaza, has said: “Why would Hamas agree to a ceasefire if it knew that to do so would make British recognition of Palestine less likely?”

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Coinbase turns lobbying efforts to UK in scathing op-ed

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Coinbase turns lobbying efforts to UK in scathing op-ed

Coinbase turns lobbying efforts to UK in scathing op-ed

Former UK Chancellor and current Coinbase adviser George Osborne says the UK is falling behind in the cryptocurrency market, particularly when it comes to stablecoins.

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Nigel Farage dared me to walk in London after 9pm: Here’s my response

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Nigel Farage dared me to walk in London after 9pm: Here's my response

At a press conference today in which Reform UK announced the Tory police and crime commissioner for Leicestershire was joining their ranks, as well as former prison governor Vanessa Frake, I asked Nigel Farage a simple question.

But his answer wasn’t what I expected.

I asked the Reform UK leader if the six-week campaign on law and order, with the tagline “Britain is Lawless”, was in fact project fear scaring people into voting for his party.

He utterly rejected that claim and responded to me saying: “No, they are afraid. They are afraid. I dare you, I dare you to walk through the West End of London after 9 o’clock of an evening wearing jewellery. You wouldn’t do it. You know that I’m right. You wouldn’t do it.”

I am not afraid to walk in the West End of London after 9pm wearing jewellery.

I have done it many times before and will continue to do so… but perhaps that is because I do not own a Rolex.

However, just because Farage is wrong on that point, doesn’t mean he isn’t tapping into other legitimate fears across the country.

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Snatch theft does worry me, hence why I now have a phone case with a strap attached to it that I can put around my body.

And I worry about knife crime in my area and what the impact could be if I were to have children – on the weekend someone was stabbed to death a stone’s throw from my house.

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Farage ‘not mincing his words’

However, if we look at the statistics, it is invariably a more nuanced picture than Farage or social media might have us believe.

According to police reports, thefts from a person in London are almost five times the national average, and they’ve been going up since the pandemic.

And the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also notes that thefts outside of the home, eg phone snatching, has increased.

However, possession of weapons has fallen in London by 29% over the last three years.

And according to the ONS, crime in England and Wales is 30% lower than in 2015, and 76% lower than 1995.

And it is a similar picture for violent crime.

In short, am I right to be more worried that snatch theft and knife crime in London is increasing? Yes, and no.

But Nigel Farage is tapping into voters’ emotions – their feelings that the country is broken. It’s a picture the Conservative Party helped to create and the Labour Party happily painted to great effect during the general election campaign of 2024.

And the more politicians of all colours tell voters that “the system is broken”, the more voters might start to believe them.

That is what Nigel Farage is banking on.

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