David Cameron has said he wants to support Prime Minister Rishi Sunak "at a hard time", after making a dramatic comeback to government in a major cabinet reshuffle.

The former prime minister has been appointed foreign secretary and accepted a peerage to take the post.

He replaced James Cleverly, who became home secretary after Mr Sunak sacked Suella Braverman.

Lord Cameron admitted it was "not usual" for a former PM "to come back".

But he said at a time when the country faced "daunting challenges" in the Middle East and Ukraine, he hoped his experience would be helpful to Mr Sunak's government.

"I've decided to join this team because I believe Rishi Sunak is a good prime minister doing a difficult job at a hard time," Lord Cameron said. "I want to support him."

 

• Former PM makes stunning comeback
• The return of David Cameron: What is going on?
• Suella Braverman sacked as home secretary

 

Later the Foreign Office said Mr Cameron had spoken to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday evening, and they discussed "the conflict in the Middle East, Israel's right to self defence and the need for humanitarian pauses to allow the safe passage of aid into Gaza" - as well as their continued support for Ukraine and the strength and depth of the relationship between the UK and the US.

Mrs Braverman's sacking kickstarted Monday's cabinet reshuffle by Mr Sunak, whose party is lagging far behind Labour in opinion polls, after more than 13 years in power.

 

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First order of business is to elevate this unelected former leader of the Remain Campaign to the House of Lords.