17th July 2025
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
15th July 2025
International Day of Women in Diplomacy: UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls visit to Geneva
1st May 2025
The UN Commission on the Status of Women: My first visit as UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls
21st March 2014 Beirut, Lebanon
SOVEREIGNTY, BORDERS AND KEEPING LEBANON OUT OF THE WAR
This week I visited Lebanon’s Northern border with the Lebanese Army. I wanted to see the way in which they are trying to enforce sovereignty at this challenging time, supported by UK projects. A series of UK funded border towers, some built (symbolically) with material previously used in Northern Ireland, are the most significant evidence in […]
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21st March 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Commonwealth
When I wrote about the problems in Ukraine just over a month ago, I don’t think anyone expected what has since happened. I’ve written separately (in Russian) on the referendum in Crimea – I fear there will be more fountains of tears in Crimea. Recent events have happened despite both Ukraine and Russia being members […]
21st March 2014 Madrid, Spain
Diplomacy, authenticity and epilepsy
Some caricature diplomacy as not being clear, avoiding hard messages, getting a deal at all costs. Worse, some see diplomats as evasive, slippery, cowardly, masters of ambiguity. In my experience the opposite is true. The best diplomats are clear about what they want to achieve, but also understand the objectives of others. They will often […]
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21st March 2014 Warsaw, Poland
Say Cheese – Say Yarg
Say Cheese – We’ve been all the way to Cornwall to taste some YARG Piesek P is on the lookout for GREAT British Cheese in Poland – as he finds it he’ll let you know – just smile! Produced from a recipe which dates back to the 13th century, Cornish Yarg cheese was conceived and […]
21st March 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Twiplomacy and the Communicator Pope
Modern diplomats, and modern Popes, are in the communications business. It remains right that there are still some government activities that are conducted behind the scenes, in confidence, with discretion, without fanfare. But modern diplomats must also persuade, which means delivering a convincing message, sometimes to the broadest possible audience, including on twitter and other […]
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20th March 2014 Toronto, Canada
Hacking technology for dementia
SIN Canada, in partnership with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences, will be running an exciting hackathon-type event on dementia in the summer/autumn of 2014. The UK is strongly committed to improving care for people with dementia, launching the National Dementia Strategy in 2009 and the Prime Minister’s […]
20th March 2014 Pretoria, South Africa
Marking South Africa’s Human Rights Day
Friday 21 March is South Africa’s Human Rights day. It commemorates the Sharpeville massacre on 21 March 1960, when 69 people died and 180 were wounded after the police fired on a peaceful crowd that had gathered to protest against the restrictive pass laws imposed on non-white citizens. The protest was a stand by ordinary […]
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20th March 2014 Mumbai, India
Interview with Dr. Philip Earis, the Royal Society of Chemistry
Dr. Philip Earis has worked for the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Publishing since 2003. He is Executive Editor of the journals – Nanoscale, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Green Chemistry, Catalysis Science & Technology, Faraday Discussions and Energy & Environmental Science. Prior to working for the RSC, he was at the University of Cambridge. Philip has […]
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20th March 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Behind the scenes at the museum
One of the issues that sometimes crosses my desk is the return of indigenous remains from western museums. So I went along to London’s Natural History Museum to call on Director Michael Dixon and his experts to find out more. More than half NHM’s human collection consists of British remains. They enable scientific research which […]
19th March 2014 Vancouver, Canada
An Energetic Discussion
A few weeks ago I found myself in a bar in Houston, Texas. Old Colt 45 pistols for door handles, animal skulls for wall hangings, a single guitarist playing a mournful country song – I’d walked into a cliché movie set (awesome)…