17th December 2025
MAKING LIFE SAFER, FOR EVERYONE
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
9th December 2025
Why We Need Data, Courage, and Community
2nd December 2025
In cybersecurity, there are no limits – only new voices ready to lead
2nd December 2015
Soft Skills in Hard Times videoblog series(II): Dame Mariot Leslie
Last week the embassy organised a seminar as part of the ‘Soft Skills in Hard Times. Remembering the Service of Great Romanian and British Women’ project. Entitled ‘Nothing Quiet on the Eastern and Western Fronts’, the event aimed to focus on the work of Romanian and British women in promoting peace, security and humanitarian support. Guest […]
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2nd December 2015 London, UK
Snapchat: reaching the right people
In October I blogged about our first exploration of Snapchat as a tool to communicate and engage with people on the work of the Foreign Office. I signed off with a challenge to myself to understand how best to measure and evaluate our success on an app with very limited analytical capability and no website for […]
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1st December 2015 Beijing, China
UK-China leading the way on climate science
With COP21 meeting in Paris this week, and a recent announcement that we are on track to have the hottest year on record, it was timely that over 150 researchers from the UK and China gathered together to discuss advancements in climate science for the second annual science meeting of the Climate Science for Service […]
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30th November 2015 London, UK
A famous Scot in the FCO for St Andrews Day
Sir Fitzroy Maclean (1911-96) — a ‘true Maclean scion’ ‘A man of daring character, with Foreign Office training’: thus Winston Churchill perfectly summed up the glamorous and enigmatic Fitzroy Maclean, who combined the careers of diplomat, soldier, partisan, politician and writer. His talents — aided by personal charm and enviable contacts — enabled him to […]
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30th November 2015 Geneva, Switzerland
Combating Fragility
The terror that stalked the music halls of Paris and the virus from Africa that reached the streets of Houston have something important in common. They both originated in fragile or failing states. Just as the refugees risking everything and the children facing famine are victims of this same fragility. The British Government published three […]
30th November 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
St Andrew’s Day in Russia
St Andrew’s Day will be celebrated in St Petersburg, Moscow and other cities across Russia on 30 November. Both Moscow and St Petersburg have hosted annual St Andrew’s Day balls for many years and will do so again this year. The Scotland and Russia relationship is full of rich history and culture dating back over […]
30th November 2015 Mumbai, India
India-UK collaboration in intellectual property
Last month, Neil Feinson and Andrew Davidson, both from the International Policy Directorate of the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO), visited India – Mumbai, Chennai, and New Delhi. We met with representatives of government, industry, and society to discuss how India and the UK could collaborate in the increasingly important area of IP rights. Herein, […]
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30th November 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
ST ANDREW’S DAY: MUSIC FOR THE WORLD
One of the best things about the job of British Ambassador is being able to celebrate not only the UK as a whole, but also individually Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Today, as I look out of my window at the Saltire, the Scottish flag flying proudly alongside the Union Flag, I am full […]
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30th November 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Belgrade Barometer
This week the OSCE moves south with its 57 national delegations from Vienna to Belgrade, capital city of our 2015 Chair-in-Office Serbia, to await the arrival of our 57 government representatives for the annual Ministerial Council. The event may not make the headlines like NATO or EU Foreign Ministers. There will be no high profile […]
30th November 2015
Celebrating St. Andrew, Scotland in Rome
The celebration of the Feast Day of the apostle St Andrew, brother of St Peter, is one of the high points in the Scots College year. It is an opportunity to invite many friends in the city, as well as some from home, to join the community in celebrating both the College and Scotland. The […]
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