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
25th April 2016 Stockholm, Sweden
Chernobyl – 30 years on
“Good evening, there has been no nuclear accident anywhere in Russia today particularly not in Chernobyl. No one is feared dead in the incident, which did not happen The rescue services have not been called out because obviously, that would be stupid considering there isn’t a vast nuclear cloud drifting across Northern Europe. So, no […]
22nd April 2016 Vancouver, Canada
What Shakespeare Taught Me (400 years later)
April 23rd is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Few of us would dispute that he was a great playwright, few except perhaps Grade 8 students all over the world being forced to study symbolism in Macbeth or how to write iambic pentameter. But why is it Shakespeare we still celebrate? Why him and not […]
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22nd April 2016 Tripoli, Libya
A Taste of Tripoli
It’s not possible to understand a country without going to it. Even if you meet lots of its citizens and read lots of books, you have to go there to see it, meet the people and get under its skin. So far I have been unable to visit Libya. I have met many Libyans in […]
22nd April 2016 Denver, CO
Train to the Plane: British Companies Help Connect Denver’s Airport to Downtown
As one of the first passengers on what has been branded the “Train to the Plane”, I can say that it is truly a game-changer for Colorado. It is one of the most exciting infrastructure projects to hit the State in decades, and, as the UK’s representative in Denver, it’s also exciting to see the […]
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22nd April 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Celebrating St George
There are many oddities in English history. One is that our patron saint is St George. It is an ecumenical oddity. His feast day, 23 April, is both a Solemnity in the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church in England, and a ‘Feast’ in the Church of England calendar (and he is a major saint […]
21st April 2016 London, UK
An abundance of UK literary heritage: a Brussels angle on the bicentenary of the birth of Charlotte Brontë, April 21 1816
In April 2016 we don’t just mark 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare. It is also 200 years since the birth of the great English novelist, Charlotte Brontë. I have long loved Charlotte Brontë’s ‘Jane Eyre,’ and visited the parsonage at Haworth in Yorkshire where she spent much of her life when I […]
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21st April 2016 Paris, France
50 days to Euro 2016!
Today marks 50 days until the start of the European Championships in France, and as kick off draws nearer the excitement is really starting to grow. The international friendly matches over Easter provided us with a taste of how each team’s preparations were coming along. And in just a few weeks – once the domestic season is done […]
21st April 2016 London, UK
UK Ambassador to the UAE on the occasion of The Queen’s 90th Birthday
Your Highness[es], Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen: welcome – from me and from my wife Kasia – to our goodly manor, this towered citadel, for this celebration of the 90th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. A particular and very big thank you to you, Your Highness Sheikh Nahayyan bin Mubarak Al Nahayyan, and to […]
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20th April 2016 New Delhi, India
Linking climate research to policy: a regional dialogue
I was privileged to attend the dissemination event of DFID’s CRISSA (Climate Research and Information Services in South Asia) programme which remains close to my heart due to my role in programme managing it during my short stint with the DFID’s South Asia Research Hub in 2012-13. As I spent two full days sitting back […]
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19th April 2016 Canberra, Australia
April in Australia: Autumn and anniversaries
It’s Autumn in Canberra. The view from my window looking out towards the Brindabellas is one of grey skies and multi-coloured trees. The cockatoos are out in force, squawking around the place. For the first time, this all feels familiar. That’s because it’s been a year since we arrived in Australia, landing in Canberra to […]
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