David Cameron, the ‘prime minister for external affairs’, gets tough on Israel

Drawing on his years at No 10, the UK foreign secretary is happy to ruffle feathers on the international stage while setting the agenda

It is only four months since Rishi Sunak brought him back into government as foreign secretary but already, having felt the pace quicken around them, officials and diplomats have given David Cameron their own title: prime minister for external affairs.

Cameron is on a whole other level," said one diplomat on the inside. Before, we had [Boris] Johnson, we had [Dominic] Raab, we had [Liz]Truss and then [James] Cleverly. Cameron can read a room - he immediately sees the elephant in it, if there is one. He constantly comes back on summonses and wants to know: When can I get more on this? When can I get an update on that?'"