2nd December 2025
In cybersecurity, there are no limits – only new voices ready to lead
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
14th October 2025
Lost and Found (but mostly lost)
13th October 2025
UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls: September visits to Sarajevo and New York
21st November 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Preserving the Historic Buildings of Romania
I was really pleased to host last week with the Romanian Ministry of Culture and the NGO Monumentum an event which highlighted two new initiatives to help in the raising awareness about, and preservation of, Romania’s cultural patrimony. The first was the “Ambulance for Monuments” project being piloted by Monumentum in Southern Transylvania; a means […]
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21st November 2016 Beirut, Lebanon
To 365 Days of Independence
Mabrouk, Lebanon! There is a positive new mood in the country. Posters have gone up, and flags been hoisted. Just last week I was treated to a truly stately guard of honour and credentials ceremony at Baabda Palace, and was honoured to finally present my credentials to President Aoun. It has been a long time […]
21st November 2016 Chennai, India
Yashoda’s story: burn survivors of violence against women and the need for a support system
On Wednesday, I will launch British Deputy High Commission Chennai’s violence against women (VAW) project at Kerala’s Baby Memorial Hospital (BMH) in Kozhikode (Calicut). Here’s a great blog by Rudy Fernandez who’s leading on this project which we’re running across several Indian states over the next couple of months to support better government responses and […]
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21st November 2016 Athens, Greece
Conflict, Poetry and Remembrance
Conflict within and between societies is, it seems, a regrettable, tragic constant in human existence. During the twentieth century, conflict reached a previously unimaginable scale. Through two worlds, and many other murderous animosities, the idea of human civilisation flickered and paled. In the First World War, the total military war dead alone reached some nine […]
21st November 2016 Mogadishu, Somalia
UK support to Somalia’s Justice System’ – governance and Rule of Law go beyond the justice programmes
Good governance, economic development and security forces that maintain order without repression are among the fundamental building blocks of a stable, peaceful democracy. But it’s the rule of law, and by extension, competent, capable and independent justice systems, that are the mortar holding it all together. The UK is driving a number of key justice […]
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21st November 2016 Tokyo
The network that puts British science and innovation on the map
From sniffer bees to inflatable incubators, shaking hands with robots and with royalty, a job in the UK Government’s global Science and Innovation Network is never dull. Made up of 90 staff based in British Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates, the network helps build research and innovation partnerships with more than 30 countries around the […]
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18th November 2016 Holy See
The Universality of the Church
On 19 November the Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church will gather in the Vatican. This Consistory (from the Latin “con sistore” – to stand together) is traditionally the opportunity for the Pope to gather the views and concerns of the Cardinals from all corners of the world. It will also be the occasion to […]
18th November 2016 Kolkata, India
My TECH Summit
I’ve been converted to a new way of thinking. I may have used this thinking before, but I wasn’t conscious of it. I’m now a proponent of ‘T-bar’ thinking and ‘T-bar’ learning. I’ve had a quick look on the Internet and can’t find any obvious gurus on the subject. Perhaps I could patent it … […]
17th November 2016 Science Innovation USA
Week of Women: Women in Science
As a child, I never thought I was going to become a scientist. My story does not start with a major epiphany of looking up at the stars and realizing I was going to be an astrophysicist. Luckily for me I had an older brother who had an incredible affinity for math and science, so […]
17th November 2016 London, UK
Saving Pangolins
Around 100,000 pangolins are killed every year to satisfy demand in Asia for their meat and scales, making them the world’s most heavily trafficked wild mammal. Their meat is viewed as a delicacy and their keratin scales are falsely believed to possess medicinal properties. These unique animals – which resemble scaly anteaters – are taken […]