5th December 2016
Riyhad, Saudi Arabia
In a fast changing world, enduring relationships built on trust and common interests matter. This year we celebrate 100 years of UK relations with Saudi Arabia, where I currently live and work, and an amazing 200 years of relations with Bahrain, my first posting as a baby diplomat 35 years ago and host to this […]
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10th October 2016
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Today is World Day against the Death Penalty. With more than 50 years of positive experience of abolition in the UK, we believe that the death penalty neither deters, nor keeps people safer. It is error-prone, and its use in the modern world if often arbitrary and in breach of international standards. It also risks […]
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9th June 2016
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
This week saw the start of the holy month of Ramadan. A time for reflection, for spending time with family and friends and for peace. However, this year many Yemenis will be spending Ramadan without adequate food, water, shelter, electricity and healthcare and fearing for the safety of their loved ones. This month, like the […]
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22nd December 2015
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
On Sunday 20 December, the first round of UN-brokered consultations on Yemen concluded in Switzerland. All parties at the talks agreed a Communiqué summarising the progress they made and committing to attend the next round of talks, which will begin on 14 January 2016. The international community was not invited by the UN to attend […]
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25th November 2015
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
As a male ambassador, I am not an obvious candidate to promote women’s rights. But the subject is close to my heart. I have spent my whole life with brilliant, accomplished women. These include my mother and sister, my wife, daughter and my female friends, colleagues, and professional contacts which included the many Yemeni women […]
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9th July 2015
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
The people of Yemen have been suffering for too long. On 1 July the UN declared the crisis in Yemen to be a Level Three Emergency: a category reserved for the most severe, large scale and complex crises in the world. This highlights that the Yemeni people are in dire peril. Many civilians have died […]
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21st June 2015
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Last Thursday saw the start of Ramadan: a time of consideration for all, and peace. Never have my thoughts been more with the people of Yemen, who are suffering greatly due to the ongoing conflict. I am writing this having just returned from the Yemen consultations in Geneva, where parties convened under the auspices of […]
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12th March 2015
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
This is my first blog as the UK’s Ambassador to Yemen. Sadly, I am unable to be based in Yemen due to the security situation. But our work continues apace – currently from London, although I hope to be opening an office, outside Yemen but in the Middle East, soon. Today the Foreign and Commonwealth […]
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9th December 2014
Sana’a, Yemen
Today, 9 December, is also the ninth UN International Anti-Corruption Day. Yemen is the 11th most corrupt country in the world, ranking 161 out of 174 countries, on a par with Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti and Venezuela, according to Transparency International’s 2014 Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The scope of the CPI is limited to public perceptions […]
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13th October 2014
Sana’a, Yemen
The National Dialogue outcomes made clear that tackling corruption was important to Yemenis. The Peace and National Partnership Agreement (PNPA) signed by all parties on 21 September has rightly put the fight against corruption back at the top of the political agenda in Yemen. When youth, women and civil society took to the streets in […]
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