3rd December 2024
RENEWING OLD TIES: THE NEW BISHOP OF LONDON
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
25th November 2024
The climate crisis and gender-based violence
8th November 2024
Ecolabels: A Catalyst for Sustainable Food Choices?
3rd September 2013 Washington DC, USA
Coming to America
Today is my first day as Britain’s Deputy Ambassador to the United States. It’s a real privilege to be starting my new role. Partly that’s because it’s simply a terrific job. I’m in charge of making sure that the Embassy and the UK’s ten other posts in the US work together smoothly, which will be […]
3rd September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Why Culture Matters
I returned from an extended Eid holiday last week. We stayed in Khartoum for the first day of Eid, sharing in Sudanese culture marking the end of Ramadan. After that we left for two weeks holiday in Europe, where I had the opportunity to re-immerse in my own culture. Cultures are important. They are the […]
3rd September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
UK and Holy See: It’s Time to Act Together
One of the highlights of the United Nations General Assembly in September will be an event hosted by Foreign Secretary William Hague and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to launch a high level political and ambitious declaration on the need to keep up the international momentum on tackling sexual violence in conflict. This event follows […]
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3rd September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
British Natural Beauty
Often in this blog I write about Turkey and its terrific qualities. But today I’m going to write about the United Kingdom. The reason is that I recently saw a survey suggesting that people in Turkey did not rate the UK highly for “natural beauty” compared with other European countries. This surprised me, because I […]
2nd September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Gibraltar – The Principle of Self-determination
Just before Christmas 2001 I was asked to undertake a special diplomatic mission. The then UK government wanted to explore the possibility of an agreement to share sovereignty with Spain over Gibraltar. Gibraltar has been British for precisely three centuries, since 1713 when Spain ceded Gibraltar to the UK as part of the Treaty of Utrecht […]
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1st September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Australia votes
Australia goes to the polls on 7 September. The key battleground is the sprawling suburbs of West Sydney, which contain 10% of Australia’s population and a number of marginal seats. I spent Saturday there to get a feel for the campaign on the ground. You quickly pick up the electoral buzz from the campaign posters […]
30th August 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
Changes of UK Travel Advice
As you may have seen from the media and our digital comms, the UK has changed its travel advice for Lebanon. We are now advising against all but essential travel to Lebanon. For Brits intending to travel to Lebanon, this means that you need to assess whether your trip really is essential. For Brits already […]
30th August 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The secret to getting a visa
Many people raise visa issues with me. They think I have a conjurer’s wand and can magic one up if they can only convince me of their case. Actually there is almost nothing I can do to assist even if I wished to do so. These days we do not even issue visas from the […]
29th August 2013 USA
Wounded Warriors bring British inventor’s dreams to life
It is rare to witness the moment when an inventor sees his dreams realised; the culmination of years of testing, adapting and perfecting inventions suddenly paying off. I had the pleasure of witnessing one of those extraordinary moments while attending the 33rd National Veterans Wheelchair Games last month in Tampa, Florida. When I visited Tampa […]
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28th August 2013 Harare, Zimbabwe
Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, visits the Helmand PRT
Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, flew in to Lashkar Gah on 27 August to see for himself the progress which international forces and the Afghan authorities have made in bringing security, stability and prosperity to Helmand. As holder of the British Government purse-strings it’s important that he satisfies himself with the impact the […]
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