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12:52

GB: diplomatic pamphlet tears apart the Foreign Office, “dated and elitist”

Britain must stop projecting a greatness that no longer exists, but rely on a renewed soft power based on its real resources. A group of diplomats led by former cabinet secretary Lord Sedwill tear apart the Foreign Office, an institution which they say is “dated and elitist”, characteristics reflected even in the building that houses it, which puts the brakes on London’s dream of a medium power . The former Downing Street foreign policy advisor, Tom Fletcher, and the former director general of the ministry, Moazzam Malik, also signed the report, evidently aimed at the next Labor government. Among the recommendations contained in the pamphlet “The World in 2040. Renewing the UK’s Approach to International Affairs” is that of allocating 1 percent of GDP to foreign policy, including aid for cooperation, and the sectors of the climate emergency and trade , to complement the commitment to two percent of GDP in defense spending. But also, more prosaically, the renovation of the building and the removal of some colonial-era photos from the walls. The Foreign Office, as it is structured now, “struggles to define a clear mandate, priorities and distribution of resources. But too often it operates as a rotating private office for the foreign minister of the day, responding to the minister’s immediate concerns, in a constant state of flux.” It is also necessary, it is underlined, “to focus in a sustained manner on the international challenges that will shape the prosperity and security of the country”. Among the problems to be addressed are the post-Brexit problems of Scotland and the former colonies which are increasingly demanding reparations and compensation for historic emissions.