5th November 2026
United Nations General Assembly: championing women and girls’ rights
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
1st October 2026
A Year Too Big for Two Suitcases: Notes From a Chevening Scholar
11th May 2026
The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill: turning a global ocean agreement into UK law
4th February 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The 100th Anniversary of the Anglo-Russian Hospital in St Petersburg, Russia
I was delighted to accompany the new British Ambassador to Russia, Laurie Bristow, to an event to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Anglo-Russian Hospital in St Petersburg on 30 January. The fascinating story of the hospital is another fine example of the importance of people to people contacts between British and Russian people during the […]
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4th February 2016 London, UK
Syria conference in London
As we approach the fifth anniversary of the civil war in Syria, the most urgent humanitarian catastrophe of the day continues with a quarter of a million lives lost to date. The international community must significantly step up its efforts and act now to support the 18 million people in Syria and neighbouring countries who […]
4th February 2016 Oslo, Norway
British nationals in Norway: Voting in the UK referendum on the EU
Legislation passed shortly before Christmas means that British nationals who have been a registered voter in the UK within the last 15 years will be able to vote in the referendum on UK membership of the European Union. How British Nationals living in Norway can vote in the referendum The date of the referendum is […]
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4th February 2016
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Conspiracy theories: “Of, ya!”
It may be time for me to shut up about conspiracy theories. I’ve written often on this subject, including: James Bond, conspiracies and the Welsh Secret Service (how, on conspiracy theory logic, the lack of any evidence for the WSS existing must make it utterly all-powerful) The perils of conspiracy theories (with bonus video of […]
4th February 2016 Colombo, Sri Lanka
Democracy at Home and Abroad
Earlier this week in Colombo, we gathered together a group of civil society and human rights organisations. For different reasons, Sri Lanka and Maldives are priorities for human rights for the UK. That gives the High Commission access to the Magna Carta Fund, a strategic programme fund dedicated to tackling the root causes of human […]
4th February 2016 Canberra, Australia
Did you know expats will be able to vote in the EU referendum?
In my travels around Australia I am often asked about the EU referendum. And many of those asking are Britons or people with deep ties to the UK. The interest is understandable. The last referendum on this issue was 40 years ago. Ultimately it will be the British people who decide whether we’re stronger and […]
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3rd February 2016 Athens, Greece
Gennadius, the Koraes Chair and the state of Modern Greek in Britain
Last week, I had the pleasure of giving the annual lecture in memory of John Gennadius to the Association of Friends of the Gennadius Library. Gennadius was the representative of Greece to the United Kingdom for over forty years (1875-1918), a tireless advocate of Greek interests, a friend of Britain, an intellectual, man of letters, […]
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2nd February 2016 Tripoli, Libya
Corruption versus Rule of Law
Libya is one of the ten most corrupt countries in the world. So said a report issued by Transparency International last week. So what? Who cares if the wealth of a country is siphoned off into private hands? The people should care. Corruption is the enemy of progress: it stifles development, marginalises prosperity, and undermines […]
2nd February 2016 Khartoum
Debating National Identity
I have been following with interest reports of discussions in the committee of the Sudanese National Dialogue dealing with identity. National identity is a subject which comes up in many of my conversations with Sudanese people I meet and there have been some interesting exchanges on Twitter and Facebook recently. In my view it is […]
2nd February 2016 Vientiane, Laos
Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made Of
This year is the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, an event the UK government, including my Embassy, is commemorating in a series of activities (check out our Facebook page UKinLaos for more details). He is perhaps England’s earliest, and certainly greatest, cultural export. One element of the commemoration is to invite individuals to share […]