5th November 2026
United Nations General Assembly: championing women and girls’ rights
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs
A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy
1st October 2026
A Year Too Big for Two Suitcases: Notes From a Chevening Scholar
11th May 2026
The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill: turning a global ocean agreement into UK law
27th June 2011 Bucharest, Romania
European boost to SMEs
European leaders meeting in Brussels last week agreed that the regulatory burden on SMEs needs to be further reduced, something that the UK has very strongly argued for in its agenda for growth. The European Commission will therefore undertake to assess the impact of future regulations on micro enterprises and to screen the acquis to […]
27th June 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Trooping of the Colours in Canberra
I represented Britain at the Trooping of the Colours on 11 June. In Australia, the Queen’s Birthday weekend is a public holiday. It was a crisp sunny day but cold, and the backdrop of Lake Burley Griffin, around which Canberra is sited, looked spectacular. Australia’s Royal Military College, Duntroon, is celebrating its centenary this year, […]
25th June 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Lifting the burden on business
When President Basescu and David Cameron met in Downing Street on 6 June they agreed to work together to promote new growth in the European economy, including by reducing the regulatory burden on business. We took the first steps to implement this agenda at the European Council yesterday. Romania and the UK worked together to […]
24th June 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Saving Children from Disease
13 June saw an extremely significant meeting in London, co-hosted by the British Government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It was especially important for children in developing countries. On that day, an addition $4.3bn was raised to replenish the Global Alliance on Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI). This will mean that GAVI can immunise […]
24th June 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Wonderful kids in Ukraine
What do Arsenal Football Club, British and Ukrainian charities, the Chernihiv regional authorities and former British ambassadors in Kyiv have in common? Answer: all have helped support a remarkable institution, the Chernihiv “Revival” centre for the social and medical rehabilitation of children. I’m visiting Chernihiv to help celebrate the 15th anniversary of the “Revival” centre. […]
24th June 2011 Geneva, Switzerland
Rewriting the unwritten rules
Life is full of unwritten rules which help determine the limits of acceptable behaviour and which help you avoid making embarrassing and sometimes costly mistakes. The peculiar world of the Human Rights Council is no exception. No one tells you these little bits of conventional wisdom like, don’t deliver the first 2 minutes of your […]
24th June 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Oranges and Sunshine – a deeply moving film
With a group of colleagues from the High Commission I attended the Canberra opening of a new film “Oranges and Sunshine”. It’s about the 7,000 child migrants who were sent to Australia between 1945 and 1967, and the heroic role of Nottingham social worker, Margaret Humphreys (tautly played by Emily Watson) in helping many of […]
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23rd June 2011 Toronto, Canada
ISSCR 2011
This is John Preece guestblogging about the recent International Society for Stem Cell Research Annual Meeting that took place in Toronto last week. ISSCR is the largest event on the stem cell / regenerative medicine calendar, and it attracted over 3500 researchers, biotech representatives and policymakers, including some of the most preeminent scientists in the […]
23rd June 2011 Ottawa, Canada
UK Cross Country Aerospace/Composites Visit
Did you know that there is an amazing amount of composite materials research that is going on in the UK? I knew there was a lot, but until this week (and what I’ve visited is by no means comprehensive) I wasn’t aware of just quite how much! I’ve now had the opportunity to see several […]
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22nd June 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Wales and Hungary
The “Bards of Wales” project came to fruition last night with a performance of the world premier of Karl Jenkins’ cantata at the Palace of Arts. Almost all 1800 seats were full and the audience (including President Schmitt) gave the work a rapturous reception. British Minister David Jones of the Welsh Office visited Hungary for […]