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
17th June 2016 Colombo, Sri Lanka
Happy Birthday, Ma’am
Last night, we hosted a very special event at the High Commissioner’s residence: a party to mark Her Majesty The Queen’s 90th birthday. Over 400 friends of the High Commission, from Sri Lanka, the Maldives and the UK, from Government to civil society to the private sector, gathered to toast the longest reigning monarch in […]
16th June 2016 San Francisco, USA
FUNDING: K9 Wearable Tech & Global Travel Assessment System
NOTE: the text below was created by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Silicon Valley Innovation Program Office. For further details, please follow the links to the full proposal calls. These calls for applications are issued under the Silicon Valley Innovation Program (SVIP) Other Transaction Solicitation (OTS) launched earlier this year and are targeted at nontraditional […]
Read more on FUNDING: K9 Wearable Tech & Global Travel Assessment System | Reply
16th June 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Disruptive dialogue
An important event I attended this week was a service at Westminster Abbey to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Anglican Centre in Rome. The Dean was joined by the Archbishop of Canterbury and a range of ecumenical guests from Rome and the Catholic Church, from Orthodox and Methodist churches, and including the Pope’s Secretary […]
16th June 2016 London, UK
Olympic Games: 50 days to go!
2016 is already shaping up to be a great year for sport. From football and tennis, to cricket and rugby, it’s not hard to get excited about the number of sporting events taking place this summer, and that’s before TeamGB and ParalympicsGB arrive in Rio! With less than eight weeks before the Olympic Games, it’s an […]
15th June 2016 Dhaka, Bangladesh
Forced marriage outreach: A good news story from Bangladesh
It was a hot summer’s day; the temperature was surely pushing 35 °C. My colleague and I reached a village nearly 200 kilometers away from Dhaka where we had come to visit a 17 year old British girl. We were sitting in small dark room, with no windows and a ceiling fan which was doing […]
Read more on Forced marriage outreach: A good news story from Bangladesh | Reply (3)
14th June 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
#Adiosistanbul 7: street food
Let’s be honest. In four years in this great city I have experienced too many #reasonstolikeistanbul to sum them up in a few farewell blogs. Sorry. Your city is too extraordinary. Maybe that’s not a bad problem to have. For example, people often ask me about my favourite shops, restaurants and cafes. But there are countless […]
14th June 2016 Skopje, North Macedonia
When an accident happens who do you call?
If you have ever had to ring fire/police/ambulance, you’ll perhaps agree that you have never been more dependent on someone else’s planning and ability to deliver a timely, effective and coordinated response. How do they do it? I found some of the answers recently when I met a group of visitors from the UK Fire […]
Read more on When an accident happens who do you call? | Reply
13th June 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Some ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ of Diplomatic Etiquette
Tidying out an Embassy cupboard recently, a colleague found a booklet that I first read when I joined the Diplomatic Service in 1986. Even then the 1965 Guidance to Diplomatic Service Officers and Wives posted to Diplomatic Missions Overseas seemed quaint and outdated. Looking at it now some of the advice seems better suited to […]
Read more on Some ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ of Diplomatic Etiquette | Reply (1)
10th June 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
#Adiosistanbul 6: the Bosphorus
The Bosphorus stands out amongst #reasonstolikeistanbul. It’s central; spectacular; and every Istanbullu craves a “Boğaz manzarası” (Bosphorus view). This matters for the Turkish economy. Not only tourists are attracted by great views. Quality of life is a key to attracting the mobile economic talent and inward investment which is vital for any economy. How can I […]
10th June 2016 Paris, France
Kick start your trip to Euro 2016
It feels like a long time since the groups were announced in the draw last December as we eagerly await the weekend’s opening games, looking in on the teams final training sessions with anticipation. Whether you’re watching from the comfort of your own home, your local pub, or soaking up the atmosphere across the channel, […]