Yahoo News How can David Cameron be a minister when he isn't an MP and what is his salary?
What are the implications of David Cameron's shock appointment as foreign secretary in prime minister Rishi Sunak's reshuffle?
David Cameron has made a stunning return to government after being appointed foreign secretary.
In dramatic scenes on Monday morning, the former prime minister strode into No 10 Downing Street.
When he later emerged from the famous front door, he did so as the new foreign secretary, after prime minister Rishi Sunak rolled the political dice and reshuffled his cabinet, including the sacking of Suella Braverman as home secretary.
DAVID CAMERON LATEST NEWS AS BRAVERMAN SACKED
There were gasps from political observers when Cameron, 57, who was prime minister from 2010 to 2016, stepped from a car outside Downing Street and back into frontline politics after an absence of seven years.
But his appointment raises a number of questions - with many commenting how the former PM landed the role back in frontline politics when he isn't currently an MP.
Yahoo News UK explores how Cameron can become a minister and what his salary will be.
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How can Cameron be a minister when he isn't an MP?
David Cameron has been appointed foreign secretary even though he is no longer an MP.
Cameron was the MP for Witney in Oxfordshire from 2001 to 2016, stepping down after he resigned as prime minister in the fallout of the Brexit referendum.
Under the ministerial code, ministerial positions can only be held by those who are members of the House of Commons or those who serve in the House of Lords.
In Cameron's case, he has been given a life peerage in the House of Lords, as confirmed by the King on Monday morning, which means he can serve as a government minister.
Watch: David Cameron makes dramatic return to government as Suella Braverman sacked
There is a recent precedent for this, when Lord David Frost served as Brexit minister but was not an MP at the time.
The last person to hold the office from the House of Lords was Lord Carrington, who served as foreign secretary between 1979 and 1982 in prime minister Margaret Thatcher's government.
The new Lord Cameron has been made a baron by the King to allow him to serve in the cabinet.
In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: "The King has been pleased to approve the appointment of the Rt Hon David Cameron as secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs.
"His Majesty has also been pleased to confer the dignity of a Barony of the United Kingdom for life upon David Cameron."
How much will Cameron get paid?
Interestingly, while he was prime minister, Cameron made the decision in May 2015 to freeze government minsters' pay for five years.
As a former prime minister, he is entitled to claim up to £115,000 per year for life under the Public Duty Costs Allowance (PDCA), which was set up in 1991 after Thatcher resigned.
The government says the payments are "made only to meet the actual cost of continuing to fulfil public duties" and are a "reimbursement of incurred expenses for necessary administrative costs arising from their special position in public life".
This typically means managing an office and visits and is not meant for private or parliamentary duties or security purposes.
According to the Institute For Government think tank, Cameron claimed £111,457 in public duty costs in 2019/20, then £113,423 in 2020/21, £106,747 in 2021/22 and £108,312 in 2022/23.
The salary of an MP increased to £86,584 in April this year, according to the House of Commons Library.
Ministers who are members of the House of Commons receive an MP salary and a ministerial salary. The prime minister receives an extra £75,440, while cabinet ministers receive an additional £67,505.
Ministers who are members of the House of Lords - like Cameron - receive a ministerial salary but they cannot claim Lords Attendance Allowance, which is up to £342 for every day they turn up in the chamber.
Most members of the Lords do not receive a salary for their parliamentary duties but those who are government ministers - as Cameron is - receive a salary for the office they hold.
Figures published by the government last December showed that ministers who are members of the House of Lords were entitled to a salary of £106,363 in the financial year 2021/22 if they were a secretary of state.
There is a pension scheme for MPs and a separate Ministers' Pension Scheme, both of which are part of the Parliamentary Contributory Pension Fund (PCPF).
