Critics say Foreign Office figures send ‘global message about the role the country wants to play on international stage’
Labour’s foreign aid cuts mean reductions of as much as 90% in the bilateral support the UK will give to some African countries, Foreign Office figures show.
The department’s annual report includes a long-awaited breakdown of how the reduction in the aid budget will affect individual countries for the next three years.
Continue reading...Foreign affairs select committee says Peter Mandelson episode was ‘nothing short of disastrous’ for government
Political selections for ambassador posts should be subject to a veto by MPs, a parliamentary committee has recommended, as it made damning criticisms of how Peter Mandelson became Britain’s top diplomat in Washington.
The foreign affairs select committee concluded that Mandelson’s appointment was “nothing short of disastrous”, “highly damaging” for the British government and “painful and offensive to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein”.
Continue reading...The programme, aimed at keeping 1m girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, withdrawn after aid cuts
A leading higher education programme, aimed at keeping 1 million girls in school across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, has been axed by the British government just two years after it was announced.
The scheme, Strengthening higher education for female empowerment (SHEFE), which was unveiled with some fanfare two years ago by the outgoing Conservative government, had a £45m budget to increase access to higher education for 1 million students worldwide. It has now had its tender withdrawn, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said.
Continue reading...Rights activists call UK ambassador ‘morally compromised’ for accepting honour from Bahraini king in apparent breach of Foreign Office rules
The British ambassador to Bahrain has been accused of breaching government rules over accepting an award by the Gulf state’s king, a move critics suggest signals diplomats and civil servants are “up for grabs”.
This week, the ambassador, Alastair Long, received the Order of Bahrain from King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, in recognition of his diplomatic tenure, which human rights activists and politicians say is in “direct breach” of the Foreign Office’s rules on accepting foreign awards.
Continue reading...Foreign Office failed to act on warnings of genocide due to ‘pressure’ from emirates, Yale human rights investigator will tell a parliamentary select committee
The British government had received intelligence that Ethiopia appeared to be supporting a genocidal militia in Sudan’s civil war as far back as 2024 but did not go public with the news for fear of upsetting the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a parliamentary committee will hear.
In May 2024, officials from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) told Nathaniel Raymond, an American human rights investigator at Yale University, that “significant private pressure” from the UAE meant the UK would not publicly divulge information linking Ethiopia and the emirates to their support for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
Continue reading...Backlash grows among European staff against radical cuts to pay off Covid-era debt, with some accusing council of ‘colonial attitude’
The historic Palacete building at 31 Paseo del General Martínez Campos in Madrid’s upmarket Chamberí district has been home to the British Council in Spain for about 70 years.
About 5,000 students each year pass through its 35 classrooms, learning English, attending exams, and forging cultural ties with the UK. Over the years that is hundreds of thousands of Madrileños (people from Madrid), while it also serves as a centre for the expat community.
Continue reading...Soft power institution faces funding crisis linked to Covid-era government loan due to be repaid by September
Staff at the British Council in Italy will go on strike over deep cuts that would slash about 80% of its workforce due to a funding crisis facing the organisation.
Out of 130 of its teaching staff across Rome, Milan and Naples, 108 are being targeted as teaching activities in Italy face the axe. The move would end 80 years of British Council English language teaching in Italy as part of the organisation’s global mission to promote British culture and education across the world, sources said.
Continue reading...Ian Collard tells MPs he had not seen UKSV assessment summary before briefing Olly Robbins on clearance
A top Foreign Office security official who played a key role in granting Peter Mandelson’s vetting clearance “felt pressure to deliver a rapid outcome” because of contacts from Downing Street, MPs have been told.
In testimony relayed to parliament via the Foreign Office (FCDO), Ian Collard said he had not seen the assessment summary produced by the vetting agency when he gave an oral briefing to Olly Robbins, the department’s former permanent secretary. Instead, Collard had received an oral briefing from a member of the FCDO’s personnel security team.
Continue reading...Chief property and security officer Ian Collard set to submit written answers to foreign affairs committee questions
A key figure in the row over Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to Washington will not appear before a parliamentary committee of MPs to give evidence.
Emily Thornberry had requested that Ian Collard speak to the foreign affairs committee (FAC) on Tuesday, but confirmed on Saturday that he would submit written answers instead.
Whether he felt under pressure to deliver Mandelson’s clearance, after Robbins said there was an “atmosphere of pressure” and “constant chasing” from Downing Street.
Whether he had seen the cover form for Mandelson’s vetting by UK Security Vetting (UKSV), the agency responsible for checks on candidates for sensitive posts, in which it had ticked two red boxes – meaning they had “high concern” and recommended “clearance denied or withdrawn”.
If he was asked by anyone in the Foreign Office, Downing Street or the Cabinet Office for advice about whether Mandelson required vetting for the post given that he was a member of the House of Lords.
If he advised on how Mandelson should be treated during the period between his appointment being announced and his clearance coming through.
Continue reading...Sacked civil servant tells select committee of ‘pressure’ to give clearance and ‘dismissive’ attitude to vetting
The civil servant sacked by Keir Starmer has given a devastating account of his government, saying Downing Street put huge pressure on the civil service to approve the appointment of Peter Mandelson as Washington ambassador despite the concerns of vetting officials.
Olly Robbins, the former top official at the Foreign Office, said No 10 took a “dismissive” attitude to vetting, and Mandelson was given access to the Foreign Office building and to “higher-classification briefings” before he was granted security clearance.
Continue reading...Olly Robbins was forced out as Foreign Office permanent secretary over the Peter Mandelson security vetting revelations in the Guardian
The hearing has started.
Emily Thornberry, the chair, started by saying that Robbins did not tell the whole truth about this process when he gave evidence to it in November.
Continue reading...Despite his explanation and the need for political stability, the PM is still unpopular – and Olly Robbins has yet to give his side of the story
Labour MPs frustrated with the lack of a clear mission from Keir Starmer’s No 10 have often urged the prime minister to be more forceful in his arguments, to prosecute his values, to find an enemy to define himself against.
The prime minister has found one: Olly Robbins. Starmer prosecuted his case against the former Foreign Office chief on Monday with the vigour of his former life at the bar.
Continue reading...Deputy prime minister says it is ‘inexplicable’ top civil servant kept Downing Street in dark
Keir Starmer would have blocked Peter Mandelson from serving as the UK’s ambassador to Washington had he known he failed security vetting, David Lammy has said, as he attempted to shore up the prime minister amid damaging fallout from the row.
In his first public comments on the vetting affair, Lammy said it was “inexplicable” that Oliver Robbins, the former top civil servant who was forced out of the Foreign Office this week, had opted to leave Downing Street in the dark over the outcome.
Continue reading...Ministers accused of being too fearful of offending Emirates to help Britons detained for sharing images of war
The families of UK citizens held in the United Arab Emirates over allegations that they shared images of the conflict with Iran have voiced frustration at the British government’s failure to help.
Several British citizens are among more than 100 foreign nationals who have been detained under draconian Emirate rules that outlaw publishing or sharing material that could “disturb public security”.
Continue reading...UK’s bilateral aid to African countries, which funds areas such as schools and clinics, to be cut by almost £900m by 2028-29
Some of the world’s poorest countries will lose out on UK aid that funds programmes such as schools and clinics, due to budget cuts set out by the foreign secretary.
The UK’s bilateral aid to African countries will be reduced by almost £900m by 2028-29 – a 56% cut – as part of more than £6bn in cuts which are funding an increase in defence spending.
Continue reading...Parliamentary group urges government to clamp down on overseas territories before flagship anti-corruption summit
The UK government has been accused of caving-in to pressure from the British Virgin Islands by allowing it to limit access to a register of company share ownership to only those deemed to have a legitimate interest.
The restriction, to be discussed at talks starting on Tuesday between Foreign Office ministers and leaders of the British overseas territories (BOTs) in London, is in defiance of legislation passed by the UK government as long ago as 2008 that would make the register available to all.
Continue reading...Nassim Mimun, who left with Lammy’s and his wife’s bags after ‘tone escalated’, acquitted owing to lack of evidence
A French taxi driver accused of stealing money and luggage from David Lammy has been acquitted due to lack of evidence, a prosecutor said.
Nassim Mimun, 40, drove the deputy prime minister and his wife, Nicola Green, more than 600km (370 miles) from Forli, near Bologna in northern Italy, to the ski resort of Flaine in the French Alps on 11 April.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Foreign secretary says world has ‘reached moment’ it wants to end war after Donald Trump signals plan within reach
The international community is on the brink of securing a peace deal for Gaza that could finally bring an end to two years of conflict and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed thousands of lives, Yvette Cooper has suggested.
The new foreign secretary, who has just returned from a UN summit, said that they had “reached a moment where the world wants to end this war” after US president Donald Trump indicated a peace deal was within reach.
Continue reading...Son of Lindsay Foreman expresses ‘real concerns’ after mother put on drip and stepfather, Craig, ‘constantly ill’
The family of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, a British couple detained in Iran on espionage charges, have said their health is deteriorating in prison.
The pair, both 52 and who previously split their time between Spain and England, were seized in Kerman, central Iran, and taken into custody in January while on an around-the-world motorcycle tour.
Continue reading...Relatives of Annie Lewis Marffy in ‘red-tape limbo’ over recovery of her body and issuing of death certificate
The family of a British aid volunteer reportedly killed in a drone strike in Ukraine said they were very disappointed by the reaction from the Foreign Office.
Annie Lewis Marffy, 69, travelled from her home in Silverton, near Exeter in Devon in late May to deliver supplies packed into a green Toyota Rav4 in a mission arranged by the non-profit organisation Aid Ukraine UK. She was to take the vehicle in convoy with a British volunteer to Kramatorsk in the contested Donbas region.
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