Inside David Cameron’s plan to get Britain back on the world stage
Jane Merrick
The Foreign Secretary has a more sceptical view of China than critics claim, and wants to bolster liberal democracies in the face of autocracies like Russia
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inews.co.uk
David Cameron wants to revamp Britain’s standing on the world stage and make an impact as Foreign Secretary in the time the Government has left before the general election, according to insiders familiar with the new minister’s thinking.

Lord Cameron believes in bolstering liberal democracies in order to stand up to autocracies such as Russia and he has a much more sceptical position on China than has been reported. In addition, he is expected to use his extensive contacts in the Middle East, including with the controversial Saudi crown prince Mohamed bin Salman, to pursue a two-state solution amid the current crisis in Israel and Gaza.

Tom Fletcher, a former diplomat who was also foreign policy adviser to Lord Cameron in Downing Street, told i the new Foreign Secretary would not just want to “move around the deckchairs” and instead “will want to do rather than just be”.

And an insider said Lord Cameron “hasn’t come back to just shake hands with people, he wants to make a real difference, however long he has got”.

Since Rishi Sunak relaunched the former prime minister’s political career in a shock move on Monday, Lord Cameron’s credentials as the UK’s leading diplomat have been called into question.

As prime minister, he was responsible for Britain leaving the EU and joined in an international intervention in Libya which contributed to that state’s collapse.

Even in his own 2019 memoirs, For The Record, Lord Cameron admitted that the Middle East peace process “went backwards” in the six years he was in Downing Street.

It is perhaps that chequered foreign affairs record which makes him all the more determined to make a lasting positive impact in his new role.

His comeback has been welcomed by foreign ministers and world leaders, Conservative MPs and diplomats. At PMQ’s on Wednesday, Mr Sunak insisted the new Foreign Secretary has “unrivalled experience of foreign affairs”.

And in an intervention which may fuel concerns among Sino-sceptics in the Tory party about Lord Cameron’s links to China, Beijing state media this week said the country hoped the appointment would “breathe new life into the China-UK relationship”.

Mr Fletcher spoke to the then Mr Cameron two months ago about his foreign policy outlook for a Radio 4 documentary, parts of which were not broadcast. Neither man knew at the time, of course, that he would become Foreign Secretary within weeks.

The content of that unreleased interview gives an insight into what might be called the Cameron foreign policy doctrine – even if he only has six months until possible Tory defeat at the next election to pursue it.

Mr Fletcher told i: “He was very clear with me about standing up for liberal democracies and against autocracies. He was very strong on Nato. He won’t just want to move around deckchairs. He is very aware that there could be a short time until the next election.

“I think he will be pragmatic and realistic about the job. He won’t want to be pushing too hard at first. But he will want to do things in the job. He will want to do rather than just be.

“[As prime minister] he was always saying to diplomats, ‘Give me creative options. Give me bold options’. He will also be very clear that he has some work to do to rebuild relationships around the world. He would not put it like that, but I would.”

As prime minister, Lord Cameron – alongside his chancellor, George Osborne – made overtures to Beijing under a so-called “Golden Era” of UK-China relations that now seem naive and misguided, given the concerns over security, espionage and its human rights record.

During his time out of office, the ex-PM acted as a paid adviser to a Chinese company building a port in Sri Lanka. On Monday, Lord Cameron insisted he had given up all of his business dealings and now only had “one job” as Foreign Secretary.

Mr Sunak’s ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, has held discussions with the Foreign Secretary about his financial interests, No10 said on Tuesday.

But in his interview with Mr Fletcher, Lord Cameron gave a much more nuanced view of China than his critics would condemn him for, according to his former adviser.

Mr Fletcher told i: “He recognises that the relationship is not either/or; that we are not going to be best friends or completely opposed to them.

“His position was much closer to that of the United States, which is that there are some areas where we need to cooperate, such as on climate change, AI. He is pretty clear-eyed in that, and quite transactional.”

Mr Fletcher said Lord Cameron’s international contacts gave him great heft in his new role. He pointed to his long-standing relationship with President Biden, from the time when he was Barack Obama’s vice president and was “in the room” when the two leaders held talks.

Lord Cameron also knows Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, and while UK-Russian relations are in the deep-freeze due to the war in Ukraine, the power balance between the two men is perhaps more equal than previous relationships.

Mr Fletcher said: “Lavrov has a view that he can push around a British Foreign Secretary, but he is not going to think that with David Cameron.”

The new Foreign Secretary also has strong links with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. Before Mr Sunak visited the Middle East at the start of the current crisis, Lord Cameron was the last British prime minister to visit Israel and the West Bank, in 2014.

Israeli government sources told i they hoped that the new Foreign Secretary would be able to pay a visit to the region soon.

Lord Cameron met bin Salman on several occasions, both as prime minister and out of office – most controversially when, as a paid adviser to Greensill Capital, he went on a desert camping trip with the Saudi crown prince.

In 2021 it emerged that the former prime minister had privately lobbied ministers in an attempt to win Greensill Capital access to an emergency coronavirus loan scheme.

An investigation by the Commons Treasury Committee found the former MP displayed a “significant lack of judgement” over the affair but cleared him of breaching lobbying rules.

Of the Middle East crisis, Mr Fletcher, who was formerly the UK’s ambassador to Lebanon, said: “There are limits to what the UK can do in terms of real outcomes.

“Where we have got it wrong I think is saying ‘we are leading the world’. But he [Lord Cameron] will be thinking about what are the levers that he could pull.

“I can certainly see him getting on a plane and talking to Gulf leaders – he knows MBS, MBZ [UAE president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan]. He knows Abbas and the Palestinians. He knows Bibi [Netanyahu] and how he operates.

“Bibi is quite good at pulling the wool over the eyes of new prime ministers and foreign ministers but he wouldn’t be able to do that with David Cameron.”

He added: “I think [Cameron] will be aware that there is an opportunity to make a difference [in the Middle East] but he will be very careful.

“This is clearly where No10 and the Americans are. I used to tell him ‘try to think about where the Americans will be in four to five days’ time.

“He is a realist, a pragmatist, not ideological. He is much more cautious than say Boris Johnson, not wanting to overpromise. Much more likely to be hitting the phones, talking to everyone.”

Whatever his critics say about his record, few would doubt that Lord Cameron’s personal, congenial style will be an effective diplomatic tool at a time of multiple international crises.

Mr Fletcher said: “It was a cliche about David Cameron that he didn’t do his homework, but he really did do it. He was always on top of his briefs. He is very transactional, he pursues relationships with people rather than institutions.

“The Americans will think the Brits are back on the park.

“I think for the diplomatic service and for diplomats it is a shot in the arm. Diplomacy is much easier when you have a foreign minister who has a lot of heft. People will take your calls. There will be more confidence and mojo.”