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
11th April 2013 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Lady Thatcher and Tun Mahathir: Era-defining Leaders
This Blog is also available in Bahasa Malaysia. Yesterday morning, I had the pleasure of meeting Malaysia’s former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir when he came to the High Commissioner’s residence to write a message in a condolence book to mark the sad passing of Lady Thatcher. Tun Mahathir’s message and some of the comments on […]
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10th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Down a coal mine
By a strange coincidence, I found myself down a coal mine on the day Margaret Thatcher died. The 1984-5 miners’ strike had been one of the many significant events of her premiership. There has been massive coverage of her death in the Australian media and comments from across the political spectrum paying tribute to Lady […]
10th April 2013 Nairobi, Kenya
Somalia and the G8: Push to start
This week, as part the UK’s Presidency of the G8, Foreign Ministers will meet to discuss the need to encourage the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) to re-engage in Somalia. The G8 countries are some of the largest shareholders in both the World Bank and the IMF. As a result, the UK is using its Presidency […]
9th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Global impact of the Arms Trade Treaty
I doubt very much that I am the only British Ambassador writing, talking and promoting the Arms Trade Treaty this week. All over the world British Embassies had been working with treaty supporters and to change the minds of sceptics for the past 7 years. So when it was agreed in the United Nations the […]
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9th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
High fashion in Istanbul
What do Nicole Scherzinger, Arzu Kaprol, Keira Knightley, Harvey Nichols, Katy Perry and Deniz Berdan have in common? They’re all involved in Turkish fashion. Nicole Scherzinger wears Cengiz Abazoğlu. Arzu Kaprol is an award-winning designer with a corner at Harrods. Keira Knightley wears Bora Aksu. Harvey Nichols has two stores in Turkey packed with British […]
8th April 2013 Ottawa, Canada
The G8 – the role it can play in preventing conflict
If you watch the news later this week you’ll see that G8 Foreign Ministers will be meeting in London on 10-11 April to discuss global conflict: how to prevent it, how to end it and how to deal with its consequences …
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8th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
International Roma Day – La Multi Ani!
Being an Ambassador is a great job. In the last two years, I’ve steered a battleship, driven a sports car, travelled all over Romania and met some wonderful people. But the day I enjoyed most was July 27, 2011, when the British Embassy marked a year to go to the London Olympics by holding a […]
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7th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Cheers to Health
‘Tena Yistelign’ is the Ethiopian greeting that wishes people good health to people we don’t know very well. This cheerful greeting underlines the importance of having a healthy life. As we mark another World Health Day today, it is a reminder that having a healthy lifestyle is critical to being productive and contributing to the […]
5th April 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Brilliant students at Turkish universities
Part of my job is to meet current and future opinion-formers in Turkey; to learn from them; and to discuss with them the United Kingdom and our relationship with Turkey. So I always hugely enjoy meeting and talking to the brilliant students who study at Turkish universities. Today I visited Koç University, some way out […]
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5th April 2013 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Arms Trade Treaty was approved by the UN General Assembly on Tuesday
I was very pleased to see that the Arms Trade Treaty was approved by the UN General Assembly on Tuesday. This is the culmination of getting on for ten years of work by nations committed to better control of the international arms trade, and by NGOs and religious groups who have campaigned relentlessly to push […]
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