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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
8th February 2013 Beirut, Lebanon
Beirutopia
Diplomats hate making predictions. Churchill once said that you could ignore every other page of Foreign Office advice, because it tended to be in the form of ‘on the one hand’ and ‘on the other hand’. The files are full of pre-election telegrams that hedge their bets. There are good reasons for this. We don’t […]
8th February 2013 London, UK
Jobs in the FCO digital team
We’ve just advertised two jobs in the FCO digital team in London. They are: Social Media Manager Digital Communications Manager (Middle East, North Africa and Global Security) I’m biased of course, but these are two amazing roles. If you’re interested in how digital can deliver foreign policy objectives, have a passion for social media, want […]
8th February 2013 Paris, France
Debating on gay marriage in France and in the UK
One of the striking things about Britain and France is that our two societies are often dealing with very similar issues at the same time. There is a clear example of that this week where, in both the British Parliament and in the French National Assembly, the issue of gay marriage (or “mariage pour tous” […]
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8th February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Wet snow
Snow has been on the ground in Belarus since early December. But temperatures have varied markedly. So while it was -18°C late on 23rd December when I drove out to Minsk airport, by the evening of Christmas Day (ie 25th December) it was above freezing. I shouldn’t be so surprised at the range of temperature. […]
7th February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
How bad is corruption in Turkey?
This seems to be the time of year for international comparative indeces. I blogged recently about the latest statistics on press freedom. Now someone has pointed out that I didn’t cover the latest Transparency International Corruption Index, published in December. The Transparency International figures are controversial. The full name of the index is “The Corruption Perceptions […]
7th February 2013 Chevening, UK
Getting to Know the Home of Australia's Head of State
The following is a guest post by Cal Viney. Cal is the 2012/13 Chevening Scholar from Australia. He is currently pursuing an LL.M. in Public Law (focused specifically on Constitutional Law and Theory) at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Cal is an Australian Lawyer. Welcome to Heathrow. Rain. Welcome to the London […]
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6th February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
UK Action on Human Rights
I had an interesting day last week. It began and ended with me handing out certificates to participants on courses the British Embassy had funded. The courses were for two very different Sudanese institutions. But they covered some common ground. The day began at the Higher Military Academy at the closing ceremony of a course […]
6th February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Respect for a woman’s body
Today we mark International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation (FGM). FGM has existed in the culture and tradition of many societies for many years, causing untold psychological and physical damage to young girls. On this day it is important that we shine a light on an issue which affects so many, and […]
5th February 2013 Washington DC, USA
Marching on Across America
The following is a guest blog by Lance Corporal Rob Howe from the Band of the Scots Guard. Lance Corporal Howe is currently taking part in the Pipes and Drums of The Black Watch and the Military Band of the Scots Guards 2013 US tour. One of the many wonderful aspects of life in The […]
5th February 2013 British High Commission, Kingston, Jamaica
Steps to go GREEN
Jamaica may be facing a drought over the next few months – or at least lower than normal rainfall, and the British High Commission has started to prepare now, by taking steps to cut water consumption at its premises in Trafalgar Road. We are adjusting all the taps so that the flow of water will […]