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Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

Part of UK in Sweden

11th March 2014

Investing In Our Future

The so called ‘Higgs Boson,’ for which British Professor Peter Higgs won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics, was only proved in 2012 at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland.

CERN is a fantastic example of what we can do when we come together in the spirit of scientific endeavour.  As facilities and instruments become more sophisticated, powerful and also therefore more expensive, it is more important than ever that we work together to pool our limited resources.

I am delighted therefore that the UK Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, today announced a significant UK contribution to the new European Spallation Source (ESS) to be built in Lund in Southern Sweden.

Before speaking at the UK’s Jodrell Bank facility, the Minster said “Investment in science is a crucial part of this government’s long-term economic plan. It’s about investing in our future, helping grow new industries and create more jobs”

This investment is great news for Sweden and the UK.

As the most powerful neutron source in the world, the new €1.8bn facility will give scientists a major new tool in the study of life sciences, energy, ICT, environmental technology, cultural heritage and fundamental physics.

The UK will be contributing around 10% of the construction costs of the new facility, but UK contribution goes way beyond this in terms of expertise.  The ESS will build upon the pioneering work done at ISIS in Oxfordshire, today Europe’s only pulsed spallation source.  The announcement made today also includes details on complementary use of this existing, world-class facility – another fine example of UK-Sweden cooperation.

The ESS is expected to be used by around 2-3,000 scientists from Europe every year.  Only by investing in science and technology, investing in our future, can we push the boundaries of our knowledge, unlocking new products, treatments and services.

Perhaps in years to come, one of my successors will be blogging about the fantastic Nobel Prize winning discoveries made at the ESS, and the revolutionary technologies it has enabled!

1 comment on “Investing In Our Future”

  1. I visited the ESS in Lund, and had its Secretaary General, a brilliant excutive from the Basque region explaining the project in front of the new “Spanish Association of researchers and scientists”.

    I am very happy that the British Government announced such an important contribution.

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About Paul Johnston

Paul Johnston joined the UK Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence initially. He has served in Paris and New York and has also had a wide…

Paul Johnston joined the UK Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence initially.

He has served in Paris and New York and has also had a wide range of political and security roles in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. Paul joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1993 as Desk Officer for Bosnia. As part of this role he was also Private Secretary to EU negotiator Lord Owen and his representative on Bosnia Contact Group.

His first foreign posting was to Paris in 1995-99 as Second Secretary Political. He was Private Secretary to the Ambassador and latterly part of the UK delegation to the Kosovo Rambouillet negotiations. Then he returned to London as Head of the Kosovo Policy Team, leading work on post-conflict policy in the EU, NATO, UN and G8.

Before his second overseas posting to New York in 2005, Paul held a variety of other EU policy and security appointments in London, such as Head of European Defence Section between 2000-01 and Head of Security Policy Department between 2002-04.

As Head of the Political Section in UKMIS New York, he advised on major policy issues for the UK on the Security Council and the UN World Summit, including the UK EU Presidency in 2005.

Paul returned to London in 2008 as Director, International Security for the FCO. He was responsible for policy on UN, NATO, European Security, arms control and disarmament, human rights and good governance.

Paul was British Ambassador to Sweden from August 2011 to August 2015 and then was Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO.

He was UK Ambassador to the EU for Political and Security affairs from 2017 to January 2020 and became Ambassador to Ireland in September 2020.

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ambassador CERN ESS Higgs Boson Nobel Prize Peter Higgs Physics