Cameron reshuffle tells Europe that Britain is 'ready to leave'
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform said: "I'm sure Lord Hill is a good man, but he is not one of the government's 'big beasts'. Cameron did not want to trigger a byelection by sending an MP. That sends a signal to partners that party management is the main concern. Sending a relative lightweight to Brussels suggests that Cameron doesn't see the dossier as very important."
"Replacing Hague, who had come to realise at the Foreign Office that European membership was a force-multiplier for British foreign policy, with Hammond, who is on record as saying he would vote to leave Europe on present terms, is also going to send a negative signal," Grant added.