Former PM David Cameron makes his first..........>

UK: Former PM David Cameron makes his first notable policy statement since

leaving office in 2016 in criticising PM Johnson's decision to merge the Foreign

and Commonwealth Office with the Department for International Development.

- Cameron tweets "The PM is right to maintain the commitment to 0.7 - it saves

lives, promotes a safer world and builds British influence. But the decision to

merge the departments is a mistake.  More could and should be done to

co-ordinate aid and foreign policy, including through the National Security

Council, but the end of DfID will mean less expertise, less voice for

development at the top table and ultimately less respect for the UK overseas."

- Johnson states reasoning for the merger is that, "Distinctions between aid and

foreign policy are artificial and outdated. They are one and the same thing. For

too long, UK aid has been treated as some giant cashpoint in the sky without

reference to the priorities of the Government of the UK".

- With the long-running schism in Conservative Party over Europe largely ended

by Brexit, there is the potential for more disagreements to emerge within

governing party between culturally liberal and conservative wings of the party.