David Miliband

Thanking the Bletchley code breakers

On Thursday we will launch commemorative badges to the brave and brilliant code breakers who deciphered the codes the Nazis used to encrypt their military and intelligence communications during the Second World War. I emphasised last week the debt of gratitude we owe to all who served at Bletchley Park and its out-stations.

Working against extraordinary mathematical odds and heavy time constraints they puzzled through encrypted messages picked up by a web of wireless intercept stations and, historians say, shortened the war by up to two years. Nor do I forget that it was Polish army officers who helped by passing on their intelligence on Enigma in July 1939.

Posted at 17:48 14 July 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[6]

Opportunities in Iraq

As security improves across Iraq, the business opportunities are growing. Iraq has the potential to become a major force in the regional economy in the way that it once was before Saddam drove the country into the ground.
 
Iraq's opportunity is clear: to use its energy wealth to bring about real improvements to the lives of orginary people, to build better public services rather than create a destructive war machine.
 
I was delighted to see a great British company like BP taking such a determined and active role in the recent oil bidding round. In awarding the vast Rumeilah field to BP and its Chinese partner, the Iraqis are recognising BP's cutting edge expertise and technical know-how and it is great to see BP joining Shell in playing a major role in working with Iraq and contributing to increased diversity of energy supplies.
 
The conspiracy theorists will no doubt rattle on that this is why we went to war. But the bidding round was designed and run by and for Iraqis and transparently so. The way it should be. BP won - good for them, good for Iraq and good for the UK.

Posted at 14:10 14 July 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[1]