David Cameron's Surprise Return: Former UK Prime Minister appointed Foreign Secretary in cabinet rejig

Cameron — who after accepting a peerage is now a Baron — will be elevated to Parliament's unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords, according to the administration. Peter Carrington, a member of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's government in the 1980s, was the last foreign secretary to serve in the House of Lords rather than the elected House of Commons.

Cameron said Britain was “facing a daunting set of international challenges, including the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East.”

“While I have been out of front-line politics for the last seven years, I hope that my experience — as Conservative leader for 11 years and prime minister for six — will assist me in helping the prime minister to meet these vital challenges," he said in a statement.

Cameron also added that while he might not agree with some individual decisions taken by Prime Minister Sunak, he still believes that he 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," Cameron added.

His appointment restores a leader who had been deposed by Britain's vote to quit the European Union. Cameron called the EU referendum in 2016, certain that the country would choose to remain in the bloc. He resigned the next day after the referendum.

Sunak was a staunch supporter of the winning "leave" campaign in the referendum. Cameron's return, as well as Braverman's dismissal, is certain to enrage the Conservative Party's right-wing and exacerbate tensions inside the party that Sunak has worked to alleviate.

Prominent right-wing lawmaker Jacob Rees-Mogg said sacking Braverman was “a mistake because Suella understood what the British voter thought and was trying to do something about it.”

Sunak had been under increasing pressure to remove Braverman, a hardliner popular with the authoritarian element of the ruling Conservative Party, from one of the most important positions in government, in charge of immigration and policing.

Sunak's radical moves are an attempt to rejuvenate his flagging government. The Conservatives have been in power for 13 years, yet opinion polls have consistently placed them 15 to 20 points behind Labour, despite a stagnant economy, stubbornly high inflation, an overstressed healthcare system, and a wave of public-sector strikes.

Last month Sunak tried to paint his government as a force of change, saying he would break the “30-year status quo” that includes the governments of Cameron and other Conservative predecessors.

“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," said Labour lawmaker Pat McFadden. “This puts to bed the prime minister’s laughable claim to offer a change from 13 years of Tory failure.”