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?
21st June 2017 Washington DC, USA
Life as a Public Sector COO
Popular culture is full of famous wingmen. Goose, Chewbacca, Dr. Watson, Buzz Lightyear – all providing support, advice, and even protection for their leading character. When the British parliament voted to approve air strikes in Syria in 2015, Foreign Policy magazine mocked up a photo of President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron as Maverick and […]
21st June 2017 Canberra, Australia
Resilience: my country, my city and me
It’s been a difficult three months. The UK has been through a series of terrorist attacks, which have punched through the daily news cycle with repeated horror and intensity. We will remember them all – Westminster (22 March), Manchester (22 May), London Bridge (3 June), Finsbury Park (19 June) – and hope there are […]
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20th June 2017 Geneva, Switzerland
In praise of peahens
One of the more amusing oddities that comes with going to the UN is having meetings interrupted by the screams of the peacocks that wander freely outside. It often seems like the vicarious expression of the feelings of those of us trapped inside for hours on end, arguing over any number of things that really […]
20th June 2017 Vientiane, Laos
Laos – an “inspirational” journey
Former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once called “a week a long time in politics”. He could have said the same about diplomacy. And a year seems like a lifetime of experiences. Or at least that’s how it feels as I complete my second fascinating year as Ambassador to the Lao PDR. With the Embassy […]
19th June 2017 Colombo, Sri Lanka
For services to the community – from Her Majesty The Queen
Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday Honours List this month included Lynn Stanier, the founder of Their Future Today, a British charity in Sri Lanka supporting some of the most vulnerable children and families in society. She was awarded an MBE for this work, which she describes below. I was in complete shock! The High Commissioner […]
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19th June 2017 Tokyo
Women in STEM: what’s changing in Japan?
Last week, I had the privilege to attend the annual Japan Academy Prize. The Prize recognize outstanding achievements in Japanese research excellence and previous winners include Nobel Laureates such as Professor Isamu Akasaki who led development of blue LEDs. This year’s winners included a pioneer of pediatric cardiac surgery, researchers who identified the genetic pathways behind […]
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16th June 2017 Skopje, North Macedonia
Why we value UK-Macedonia partnership?
Earlier this week I had my first one-to-one meeting with Zoran Zaev since he became Prime Minister of Macedonia. It had been delayed by a week because of what we call ‘purdah’, the election-related silence in which British civil servants are not allowed to say anything which might influence voting or government formation. Given the […]
16th June 2017 Vienna, Austria
Close to the South – and to the UK
The sun blazes down on a red-tiled medieval roofscape. Outdoor tables and chairs and street performers hint at a lively café culture and a burgeoning arts scene. “The Guardian” famously described Graz, capital of the Austrian region of Styria, as “Vienna’s cooler little sister”. As a resident of Vienna who subscribes to Oscar Wilde’s aphorism […]
16th June 2017 Beirut, Lebanon
The Terrorists Won’t Win: What Does This Mean?
After each terrorist attack, we repeat to ourselves the reassuring mantra that the terrorists won’t win, and they won’t. But on one level, the mantra can sound empty. Terrorists will, sadly, continue to kill and spread fear across many regions of the world. The recent attacks and harrowing experiences of Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge […]
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16th June 2017 Beirut, Lebanon
لن ينتصر الإرهابيون: وماذا يعني ذلك؟
في كلّ مرّة يضرب فيها الإرهاب، نردّد في أنفسنا ذاك الشعار المطمئن أنّ الإرهابيون لن ينتصروا … وهم فعلاً لن ينتصروا. ولكن في مرحلة ما، تشعر أنّ ذاك الشعار فارغ. فالإرهابيون، وللأسف، يستمرّون بالقتل ونشر الخوف في مناطق عدّة من العالم. ولن تفارق الهجمات الأخيرة والتجربة الفظيعة التي طالت وستمنستر ومنشستر وجسر لندن بال الناجين […]