1st October 2026
A Year Too Big for Two Suitcases: Notes From a Chevening Scholar
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
11th May 2026
The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill: turning a global ocean agreement into UK law
9th April 2026
The Gulf, Berlin and the Commission on the Status of Women: building global alliances to advance women’s progress
7th December 2011 Ottawa, Canada
SIN podcast: Dr. Adrian Bird on epigenetics
The Gairdner Awards are Canada’s foremost international awards, given to outstanding medical researchers who have made a significant contribution to the quality of human life. The 2011 recipients include Dr. Michael Hayden, Dr. Jules Hoffmann (who also won the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine) and Dr. Adrian Bird of the University of Edinburgh. […]
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7th December 2011 London, UK
Thoughts from the OSCE Ministerial Council
I commend the Lithuanian Chairmanship in Office which has pursued a challenging agenda for the OSCE this year and I hope this Ministerial Council will both consolidate their excellent efforts and commit to realising future positive change across the OSCE area and beyond. I take a very keen interest in what has been happening in […]
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7th December 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Romania – better transport, less greenhouse gas
Yesterday I opened a new intermodal transport hub in the west of Bucharest, a new 6.4 million euro British investment in Romania run by the company Tibbett Logistics. This state-of-the-art terminal will allow freight trains to be off-loaded right in the centre of “Europolis”, the main industrial park in Bucharest. It’s an important development for […]
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7th December 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Ukrainian economy: how to be optimistic
It’s often said that bureaucrats and businessmen do not mix. But the opposite is true when I hold a reception at the residence to mark the national rollout of “Youth Business Ukraine”. I’m often accused of being too optimistic about Ukraine. Others accuse me of being too pessimistic. But it’s difficult not to be optimistic […]
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7th December 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Holy See joins International Organisation for Migration
Good news this week as the Holy See on 5 December joined the Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Why is this important? The Holy See’s “Ambassador” (Permanent Observer) to the UN in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, summed it up well in an interview he gave to Vatican Radio: “as we are witnessing a continuous […]
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6th December 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Manufacturing – it’s what the UK’s still good at and we’re going to get even stronger.
The Cleveland Indians, the Cleveland Browns, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Buckeyes. That’s just a few of the things associated with Cleveland in Northeast Ohio, home of my in-laws. But manufacturing has also traditionally been a part of Cleveland and Ohio’s landscape too. I was in Cleveland on 31 October and 1 November […]
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6th December 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Donetsk, Ukraine and the EU
What would the great Welshman and founder of Donetsk, John Hughes, think of Ukraine today? I was privileged to be invited to Donetsk recently to give the inaugural John Hughes memorial speech. My audience was the Donetsk Chamber of Commerce and the British Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce. In the speech I paid tribute to John […]
6th December 2011 Geneva, Switzerland
Syria in the spotlight
The Human Rights Council turned its attention to Syria again on Friday last week with another Special Session called by the EU- the 3rd consecutive time in 7 months it had met in response to the Assad regime’s ongoing brutality. This level of attention is a clear indication of the international outrage at what is going […]
6th December 2011 Geneva, Switzerland
Celebrating Torture Prevention
You wouldn’t expect an international meeting on torture prevention to be a happy occasion but November’s global forum on the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture had the feel of a large and joyous family gathering. Given that the Optional Protocol is still in its youth, the atmosphere was more one of Barmitzvah than […]
5th December 2011 Washington DC, USA
Elementary My Dear Watson
We spend a lot of time here at the Embassy talking about the interconnectedness of the UK and US. Our defence relationship, both historic and present; our mutually essential trade links; and the cultural roots that underpin this special relationship – this is the bread and butter of what the Comms team here does. And […]