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
4th June 2015 New Delhi, India
Tale of an enticing beehive – UK in Milan
The UK is one of 145 nations participating in the World Exposition 2015 which is taking place in Milan from 1 May till 31 October. The UK Pavilion takes the shape of a bee-hive and represents the crucial role played by pollination in providing the food that we eat. Visitors to the hive experience the […]
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3rd June 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A story of a British-built Russian icebreaker, who took part in the Arctic convoys
Guest post by Keith Allan, Consul General in St. Petersburg The Russian ice-breaker, the Krasin, was built in Newcastle in 1916-17 and went on to play an important role in the Arctic Convoys of World War II. In this blog, Consul General Keith Allan talks about his recent visit to Newcastle University where a model […]
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3rd June 2015 Athens, Greece
From Mystras to Kardamyli: A hike in honour of Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor
“On the map, the southern part of the Peloponnese looks like a misshapen tooth fresh torn from its gum with three peninsulas jutting southward in jagged and carious roots. The central prong is formed by the Taygetus mountains…” This morning, thanks to the Benaki Museum, I was standing in the study of the great man […]
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3rd June 2015 Gaborone, Botswana
The Kasane Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade
I’ve always thought it better to write about an event, especially a successful one, a few weeks after it rather than risk getting caught up in the euphoria of the moment. So it is with considered reflection that I write about the success that was the Kasane Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade (IWT) which […]
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3rd June 2015 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Rugby
On Saturday I was lucky enough to attend a rugby match between Uzbekistan and India at the stadium in Dostlik, just outside Tashkent. The Uzbek team won convincingly, finishing with a magnificent try in the last few minutes of the match, when one of the Uzbek players forced his way through the Indian defenders and […]
2nd June 2015 Skopje, North Macedonia
‘The Beginnings of that Freedome’
This is not a political slogan. It is the title of an exhibition that the UK Parliament is hosting in celebration of 800 years of Magna Carta. The exhibition commissioned nine artists to produce banners for the historic and beautiful Westminster Hall, celebrating key moments along our journey to modern democracy. If you are not able to visit it in person, you can see the exhibition […]
30th May 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Chevening scholarships: bridging the cultural divide
Chevening Scholarships are the UK government’s global scholarship programme, funded by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and partner organisations. The programme makes awards to outstanding scholars with leadership potential from around the world to study postgraduate courses at UK universities. Around 280 talented young Sudanese have benefitted from Chevening scholarships. I’ve invited them to describe their […]
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29th May 2015 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Henry Moore
On Wednesday I attended a closing ceremony for the exhibition of graphic works by Henry Moore at the State Museum of Arts. Moore was one of the greatest British artists of the twentieth century. He is best known for his sculpture, much of it on a monumental scale and semi-abstract, but with a deep sense […]
29th May 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Needed – civil society
Last week I (briefly) took part in the “Eastern Partnership Civil Society Conference” in Riga. This is part of the European Union’s efforts to reach out to the peoples of the surrounding nations. I wrote about civil society nearly two years ago, when I mused about what the term meant. I concluded that civil society […]
29th May 2015
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
#REASONSTOLIKEISTANBUL PART 2
I was delighted to spend a couple of hours recently with top Turkish journalist and photographer Ercan Arslan. Ercan had come across my Twitter account @leighturnerFCO and the series #reasonstolikeIstanbul, now at #373. He asked if we could visit a few of the places I’d tweeted about. The result was a piece published in the […]