Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said: “It was emotional, then we had a period during which we could raise tributes to the extraordinary service the Prime Minister has given, led by George Osborne and Theresa May”. “He was the future once”. Six years later, he is leaving office under the shadow of Britain’s impending exit from the European Union.
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Angus Robertson also used Mr Cameron’s final appearance at the dispatch box to attack Mrs May and draw further attention to the Brain family, who are facing deportation from the United Kingdom after coming to the Highlands from Australia in 2011.
Small-business minister Anna Soubry said Mr Cameron began by discussing how to tackle the problem of deprivation – an issue he had raised at the start of his premiership.
And, watched by his wife and children in London’s House of Commons, he said: “Nothing is really impossible if you put your mind to it, after all I was the future once”.
Cameron first entered Downing Street following the 2010 general election, a vote which created a hung parliament and forced the Tory leader to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats.
Flanked by armed police, a van from Simply Removals UK Ltd arrived at the back of Downing Street to drop off 330 storage boxes while PM-designate Theresa May posed for pictures in front of the famous black door.
He found time to congratulate Wimbledon victor Andy Murray and other British players there, and rebuffed rumors that he does not like Downing St.’s resident cat, Larry – “I do!”
Meanwhile, Danny Kinahan, the Ulster Unionist MP for South Antrim, suggested Mr Cameron could fill another leadership position once he has left Number 10.
“Sadly I can’t take Larry with me: he belongs to the house and the staff love him very much – as do I”.
He said: “I’m told that there are lots of leadership roles out there at the moment”.
He then prompted laughter across the House as he adopted an American accent to recount the time he was greeted by a member of the public in NY when he was Leader of the Opposition.
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Mr Cameron thanked Mr Kinahan for his “fascinating suggestions” which he said “sound even harder than this one, so I think I’ll pass”.
