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
16th October 2013 London, UK
GOV.UK and the FCO – one year on
Early in 2012, we agreed the FCO would be a “trailblazer” – one of the first departments to move to the government’s new single site GOV.UK. Travel advice visited by millions each year as well as over 200 country pages in over 35 languages are now on the site. One year on from GOV.UK’s launch, […]
16th October 2013 Toronto, Canada
Blog Action Day 2013: Human Rights
16 October is Blog Action Day, during which thousands of bloggers from all over the world write on a common theme. The theme for 2013 is Human Rights – the fundamental freedoms that all people are entitled to simply by virtue of being human; largely enshrined in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights […]
16th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Human Rights and Doing Business
Human rights is the theme of this year’s Blog Action Day, which falls today. So in this blog, I’d like to focus on the link between human rights, development and doing business. Recently, our Foreign Secretary William Hague talked about ‘Good Business: Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.’ He outlined our […]
16th October 2013 Windhoek, Namibia
Taking a Stand: British support for Human Rights activities in Namibia
16 October marks international Blog Action Day which has a “Human Rights” theme this year. The British High Commission in Windhoek has a proud history of supporting local organisations focusing on human rights issues in Namibia. Since my own arrival here in mid 2011, I have particularly enjoyed working with the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), […]
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16th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Blog Action Day: Human Rights and the Holy See
16 October is Blog Action Day, when bloggers across the world are encouraged to post on the same theme. I participated last year. As the theme for 2013 is “Human Rights”, as a blogger and as an Ambassador to the Holy See, I can hardly fail to do so again. I recommend to anyone interested […]
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16th October 2013 Athens, Greece
Two sea-faring nations
When they appointed me ambassador, I knew almost nothing about the maritime world – whether naval or mercantile. Sure, I had grown up near one of the most important ports in England and had gone to school there. In the 19th century, the fleet of Hull was principally occupied with whaling. In the 20th century, […]
15th October 2013 Toronto, Canada
Canadian science news: 7-13 October 2013
[View the story ” Canadian science news: 7-13 October 2013″ on Storify]
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15th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Human Capital 1.0
We are hearing more and more about ‘human capital’ at the OECD. This is good news. It may sound counter-intuitive. Human and Capital. Man and Machine. Opposites surely, or at least complements, unless you’re in some sort of modernist fantasy? But the phrase, while not the most literary, does make sense. In the same way […]
15th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Open House at the Residence
We opened up our Residence to the public this weekend as part of the “Windows on the World” contribution by the Diplomatic community to Canberra’s 100th anniversary celebrations this year. Westminster House has been the residence of British High Commissioners to Australia since 1953. The fifties wasn’t generally acknowledged as one of the great periods […]
14th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Yegna: The Sound of Girls
On International Day of the Girl Child, I was able to meet five young girls who are changing how young women are perceived in society here. These five, vibrant girls make up Ethiopia’s first girl band ‘YEGNA’, which means ‘ours’. I met them backstage as they were preparing for their debut live concert. Yegna is […]