Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Blogs

A unique insight into UK foreign and development policy

9th July 2012 Washington DC, USA

Hetty Crist

by Hetty Crist

Deputy Press Secretary

A GREAT Evening for British Art

The following is a guest post by Maeve Atkins, Communications Officer at the British Embassy in Washington. As the newest member of the Communications team at the Embassy, I was especially excited to work my first event – in my first week – at one of Washington’s premiere modern art museums, The Phillips Collection. Every […]

Read more on A GREAT Evening for British Art | Reply

9th July 2012

Avatar photo

by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Working Together for an Arms Trade Treaty

It is estimated that 750,000 people are killed each year in armed violence. Millions more lives are blighted through injury, displacement and destroyed livelihoods. Much effort in multilateral negotiation goes in to the control and regulation of weapons of mass destruction. But, in fact, it is the so-called small and conventional arms that are the […]

Read more on Working Together for an Arms Trade Treaty | Reply (2)

6th July 2012 New Delhi, India

Higgs Boson: an international success with Indian ingredients

As excitement built around this week’s announcement of the latest results from the Large Hadron Collider, I wondered whether we ought to be using this blog to mark the occasion in some way. With scientists asking people not to speculate too much about what the result might be, I was pretty sure we ought to wait for […]

Read more on Higgs Boson: an international success with Indian ingredients | Reply (9)

6th July 2012 Budapest, Hungary

by Jonathan Knott

Former British ambassador to Hungary, Budapest

Queen’s Birthday Party

I’ve wanted to blog about our Queen’s Birthday Party for a little while now.  But first we got very busy in the Embassy with preparations for the European Council and then I went down to the Balaton for a couple of days.  Now things are a little more back to normal and I’m catching up. […]

Read more on Queen’s Birthday Party | Reply

5th July 2012 New York, USA

Avatar photo

by Danny Lopez

British Consul-General, New York

Airbus Crosses the Atlantic

On Monday, I had the fantastic experience of landing an Airbus 320 in London.  Well, simulating one at least, from inside a Thales full-flight simulator of an A320 at Airbus’ Miami training centre.  The flight might have been virtual, but the sweat on my brow was real, and I was definitely at my most focused. […]

Read more on Airbus Crosses the Atlantic | Reply (1)

5th July 2012

Robin Twyman

by Robin Twyman

Consul for Business and Government Affairs

Patently Superb – Major EU Intellectual Property Development Contributes to UK Growth

The following is a guest post by Thomas Whitehead, Trade Policy Advisor at the British Embassy in Washington covering information communications technology and intellectual property policy. As innovation, talent, creativity, and knowledge become ever bigger drivers of the US and the UK economies, intellectual property (IP) is increasingly important as a means for delivering prosperity and growth. […]

Read more on Patently Superb – Major EU Intellectual Property Development Contributes to UK Growth | Reply (1)

5th July 2012 Toronto, Canada

We want you: working visas for exceptional talent

The UK’s immense knowledge base and world-class facilities make it a natural destination for academia’s brightest minds, and we welcome thousands of overseas students, researchers and teachers into our institutions every years. Did you know that if you are internationally recognised in your field then you may be able to apply to work in the […]

Read more on We want you: working visas for exceptional talent | Reply

5th July 2012 Geneva, Switzerland

Avatar photo

by Bob Last

Head, UK Mission Political and Human Rights Team

Staying in for the summer

Anyone who’s lived around Geneva for a while will know that the weather here plays nasty tricks. In winter the sun shines down serenely on fresh snow all week, only to turn into a vicious arctic ice-blast by the weekend. And in summer the downpours coincide with Friday afternoon work-leaving times just a little too […]

Read more on Staying in for the summer | Reply (1)