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
7th July 2016 Skopje, North Macedonia
British Council – 20 years of building cultural relations between Macedonia and the UK
The British Council in Macedonia marks its 20th anniversary in 2016. We celebrate two decades of building cultural and education relations between Macedonia and the United Kingdom. It is the time when we reflect back and see the fruits of our work in creating links and understanding between British and Macedonian institutions, professionals and communities […]
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7th July 2016 London, UK
Climate change: The opportunity of our age
This week, our Ambassadors and High Commissioners have returned to London for Leadership Week. I took the opportunity to speak with them, alongside my fellow peers in the House of Lords, about the agreement reached at the Paris climate Conference of Parties (COP21) and to provide reassurance about the Government’s commitment to tackling global climate […]
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7th July 2016
Ask our Ambassador in the Holy See
On Thursday 14 July at 10:30-11:30 am (UK time), our Ambassador Nigel Baker will be online to bid farewell to the numerous followers of @UKinHolySee Twitter handle, after five exciting years as British Ambassador to the Holy See. You can tweet your questions in advance to #AskHMA about the depth and importance of the modern […]
7th July 2016 Canberra, Australia
Uncovering lost stories of WW1
For many in the UK, the first day of the Battle of the Somme looms large in our island story – it was the first time a mass, citizen army drawn from the population as a whole, rather than professional soldiers, was committed into an industrialised theatre of war. It was to be a terrible, […]
6th July 2016 Calgary, Canada
Discovering the British beat in Canadian music
Elton John composed his first five albums on a trusty old piano. And where is that piano now (must be worth a bit)? It is actually to be found in Canada’s new National Music Centre .
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6th July 2016 Beijing, China
Looking back and moving on
Tomorrow is my last day in the China Science and Innovation Network. It’s been fun. It’s been hard work. It’s been a privilege. Here’s a look back at some of the highlights from an amazing team during my three years in what might just have been the best job in the Foreign Office. December 2013: During the […]
4th July 2016 Ottawa, Canada
From Mogadishu to Ottawa
A diplomatic life is often one of contrasts. One year you can be working on climate change, another you’re promoting human rights in North Africa. That’s what makes this career so varied and challenging.
4th July 2016 Berlin, Germany
Late night science in Berlin
What a great tradition to have: the long night of the sciences! London museums have late-night openings, but imagine if it wasn’t just one museum but research institutes, universities and museums all at once. This is exactly what happens in Berlin and Potsdam once a year on the “long night of science”. For inquisitive SIN […]
4th July 2016 Geneva, Switzerland
Parting Thoughts
Late on Friday evening The Council came to a sweaty and cantankerous finish. Well, it sort of did. Not content with causing disruption and delay through 50 hostile amendments to a range of important resolutions, Russia then forced the Council into extra time by persistently objecting during the appointment of the Special Rapporteurs. Time eventually […]
1st July 2016 Minsk, Belarus
Exploring southern Belarus
I’d like to talk today about my visit to Belovezhskaya Puscha and Brest Fortress a couple of weeks ago. I went down on Friday by car arriving at the park in the early evening to be greeted by two women in traditional dress with salted bread and flowers, which is really nice. And then on […]