Commons Speaker Queries Oversight For Unelected Foreign Secretary David Cameron

House of Commons Speaker Lord Lindsay Hoyle criticised the appointment of David Cameron as the new Foreign Secretary, highlighting the rare situation of holding accountable a Cabinet Minister from the House of Lords.

Speaking in the house on Monday, Hoyle said: “This is not the first time in recent years a Cabinet Minister has been appointed in the House of Lords, but given the gravity of the current international situation, it is especially important that this House is able to scrutinise the work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office effectively.”

He continued: “I have therefore commissioned advice from the clerks for possible options for enhancing scrutiny of the work of the Foreign Secretary when that post is filled by a member of the other House.”

The concerns were also raised by Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who was less restrained in his language, tweeting that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to choose Cameron was “a last gasp act of desperation from a government devoid of talent and ideas.”

Lammy went on to brand Cameron an “unelected failure” that “MPs cannot even hold to account.”