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Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
2nd December 2025
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14th October 2025
Lost and Found (but mostly lost)
3rd June 2020 Vienna, Austria
Cycling in Vienna: diplomatic, healthy and green
The freshly oiled crank purrs like a sewing machine. The sun has come out from behind the clouds, casting a silverish gleam on the Danube. There is a mild breeze. Hundreds of people are cycling on Vienna’s 21 kilometre-long Danube island and I am one of them. To me this is pure happiness. Cycling is […]
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2nd June 2020 Dublin, Ireland
A week in the life of Robin Barnett
Many people have asked me how an Embassy can operate virtually. After all, diplomacy is something of a contact sport. The answer lies in a combination of good IT, a great team, lots of imagination and creativity, a network of contacts, a lot of hard work and, crucially, by recharging your mobile phone at every […]
30th May 2020 Maldives
Meeting Maldives
Before I came to Maldives, my non-resident predecessor told me that being the first resident UK Ambassador* to Maldives would provide a great opportunity to get out to islands that diplomats hadn’t reached in many a year. In my previous posting, in Seychelles, I’d been limited to a small number of affordable islands. So I […]
27th May 2020 Vienna, Austria
How “The adjoining house at the Lustig Prean Gasse” became the British Embassy
“The Ministry of Works may have ideas about office accommodation. I doubt whether it would be possible to extend the existing offices by building in the courtyard. Failing this, it might be possible to secure the adjoining house in the Lustig Prean Gasse (No.10), which is now divided into flats and which would be sufficiently […]
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20th May 2020 Skopje, North Macedonia
Local traditions during the holy month of Ramadan
The holy month of Ramadan is about to end and I would like to send my very best wishes to all who are Muslims, who like me observed this special time of the year. Keeping yourself and loved ones well during Ramadan this year will mean adapting usual religious and cultural practices. Traditionally Ramadan is […]
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17th May 2020 Skopje, North Macedonia
Inclusion in uncertain times – IDAHOBIT
Two things struck me when I was asked to write this week’s blog marking the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) on 17 May. First, it reminded me how much the world has changed since February. I’m thinking of then because it was the last public event I hosted, the day before the first […]
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15th May 2020
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A home for all of us
17 May is IDAHOBIT, International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. While there are many special days to mark throughout the year, this is an important one to me personally. Last September, my wife Martina and I took part in the first PRIDE march in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This was a happy day for us, […]
8th May 2020 India
Manipur to London: One Brit’s epic 8,000-mile journey from India
Whether at home or overseas, each of us will have our own memories of the COVID-19 pandemic – both personal and professional. In India, we’ll recall the fateful 24 hours in late March when FCO advised all British tourists and short-stay travellers abroad to return to the UK and the Government of India imposed what […]
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27th April 2020 Vienna, Austria
Why now is the time to take global action against COVID-19
Coronavirus or COVID-19 has been shaping the reality of life and work in Austria, the UK and around the world. As we are all trying to do our bit to fight the spread of the virus (stay at home!) and adapt where possible to a new normal, I think it’s worth reminding ourselves that in […]
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22nd April 2020 Dublin, Ireland
Living in Lockdown
I wanted to reflect on the Coronavirus crisis, the tragic loss of so many lives around the world and on actions that need to be taken to defeat the virus. The enormity of what is happening is incredibly difficult to come to terms with. Just like everybody else, I have never known anything like this […]