London, Nov 14 (IANS) Just hours after he was appointed as the new British Foreign Secretary, David Cameron spoke to his American counterpart Antony Blinken about the raging Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
In a post on X late Monday, the UK Foreign Office said that Cameron and Blinken “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”.
“They also expressed their continued support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s illegal war of aggression. And reiterated the strength and depth of the relationship between the UK and the US,” it said.
On its part, the US State Department said that Blinken congratulated Cameron for his new role and they also “underscored continuity in the US-UK Special relationship and its importance to regional and global security”.
The Department said that besides discussing the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Blinken and Cameron also discussed relations with China.
As part of a major Cabinet reshuffle, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Monday appointed Cameron as the new Foreign Secretary, replacing James Cleverly who has assumed the post of Home Secretary.
Cameron, who became the Prime Minister in May 2010, stood down in July 2016 after losing the Brexit referendum.
Since then he has maintained a relatively low profile, though he became embroiled in scandal two years ago when he lobbied government ministers to provide financing for the now-insolvent financial services company Greensill Capital.
He returned to the headlines last month when he said Sunak’s decision to cancel the HS2 high-speed train line between Birmingham and Manchester was wrong, adding: “We are heading in the wrong direction.”
Monday’s Cabinet reshuffle also saw the sacking of Indian-origin Suella Braverman from the post of Home Secretary after she wrote a controversial article in The Times newspaper, criticising the Met Police over pro-Palestine protests in London.
It was later confirmed that she had ignored advice from Downing Street to make changes to the article.