Lord Cameron said the UK must act as a “friend, neighbor and best partner”. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Europe
Britain needs closer ties with the European Union and should work more closely with Brussels on international and defense policy, David Cameron has said.
The Foreign Secretary said “friend, neighbor and partner” block. ” as he described support for Ukraine as an example of cooperation between the government and Brussels.
But Lord Cameron immediately faced a backlash from some Tory MPs, who warned him not to “renew” the Brexit debate after how he led the failed Remain campaign in 2016.
In his first full interview since his surprise return to frontline politics last week, Lord Cameron insisted Britain must act as “a friend, a neighbor and a better partner.”
“When you look at engagement with Ukraine, it “is probably the best example of how it works,” he told BBC News.
“There is no doubt that the UK is the leading European power in helping Ukraine. I've heard it over and over again from the President. But we do this in partnership with our European colleagues. So I think we can make the principle of “friend, neighbor and partner” work, and I am determined to do it.”
Conservative MPs who supported Brexit were alarmed by these remarks. Richard Drax, a member of the defense select committee, said: “You might want to remind Lord Cameron that we left the EU – no ifs or buts – and we're doing very well, thank you.
“I hope Lord Cameron's comments do not in any way reopen the Brexit debate because that would be completely wrong.”
Dame Andrea Jenkins, who submitted a letter of no confidence in Rishi Sunak last week, said : “We certainly must pursue policies that will appeal to these new Tory voters in the 2019 election, and rhetoric like this will not win us.” the majority.”
Sir Michael Fabricant, MP for Lichfield, said: “His statement simply adds to the concerns of those voters who think David Cameron has not given up on the referendum.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Lord Cameron defended his pro-China policies, while in Downing Street, where he pushed for a “golden era” of trade between the two countries.
“When I became Prime Minister, Britain's greatest need was to grow again, to trade, to export, to help our businesses around the world,” he said.
Reiterating his support for “realistic, hard-nosed” policies towards Xi Jinping's regime, he added: “Engaging with China is one part of the approach we need to take, not least because China is a fifth of humanity.”
“We are not going to to solve problems like climate change if we don't get involved, and hopefully I can be part of that.”
Lord Cameron condemned the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7 as “absolutely appalling” but continued: to warn the Israeli government that civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip as a result of the military response were “too high.”
Reflecting on his visit to Israel earlier this week, he said: “When I met with the President of Israel, the Prime Minister and others, I emphasized again and again that they must respect international humanitarian law, that the number of victims is too high, and they must remember this.”
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