Ex-PM Cameron returns after UK Cabinet reshuffle

Former United Kingdom prime minister David Cameron has returned to high office after a Cabinet reshuffle.

Cameron's appointment to the position of foreign secretary was, perhaps, the biggest surprise on a day of shocks, in which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak fired Suella Braverman from her role as home secretary, largely because of a newspaper article she wrote without permission from Sunak, in which she criticized the Metropolitan Police.

James Cleverly, who had previously served as foreign secretary, was announced as Braverman's replacement, freeing up the foreign secretary position for Cameron.

Many experts have said Braverman appears to have deliberately provoked Sunak, perhaps because she is contemplating launching a leadership challenge seeking to replace him.

The BBC quoted the prime minister's official spokesman as saying: "This reshuffle will give the prime minister a united team to deliver the change this country needs for the long term."

The UK is headed for a general election in 2024, with the ruling Conservative Party widely tipped to lose heavily to the Labour Party, based on current polling.

Cameron has had a very low profile since standing down in 2016, immediately after the UK held a referendum on whether the country should leave the European Union. Cameron had campaigned for the UK to remain part of the bloc but the referendum result showed the nation's voters had narrowly decided they wanted to leave.

Cameron also stood down as a Member of Parliament but was awarded a seat in the House of Lords through which he will now be able to return to government.

Cameron said after his appointment as foreign secretary that he looked forward to being "part of the strongest possible team that serves the United Kingdom".

Tim Bale, professor of politics at the Queen Mary University of London, said Cameron's appointment "is a measure of the desperation that surrounds this government", as reported by The Associated Press. "It's difficult to believe that this is going to impress voters, whether they are convinced Brexiteers who despise David Cameron for being a remainer, or convinced remainers who despise David Cameron for holding and losing a referendum."

Agencies contributed to this story.