Principal, Hertford College, Oxford. Ex UK Ambassador, No 10, NYU Prof. Author, The Naked Diplomat, Ten Survival Skills For A World In Flux, The Ambassador.
Paperback out today. Please tuck in.
Topical chapters on reclaiming ‘Take Back Control’, what we really need to teach (spoiler: not just maths), and much more.
Always good to launch on a slow news day.
Over several years in
@10DowningStreet
I collected advice for my son, Charlie:
I asked world leaders what they would say to themselves at 14 years old. Mikhail Gorbachev was quite emotional as he wrote his. His translator helped too. Here it is.
RIP
I couldn’t find UK statement,
@10DowningStreet
, so here’s a quick draft:
“We condemn this attempt to subvert the democratic will of the American people, and those in the outgoing administration that has incited it. We call for calm, restraint and a peaceful transition of power.”
The issue here is not that No 10 sent France a demanding letter and then shared it with the media. That is normal cut and thrust.
It is that No 10 wrote a letter for the Daily Mail and shared it with France.
In touch with so many friends in Lebanon, Israel, Palestine. A grim and terrifying moment for so many civilians, who did not choose this horror. Somehow, amid the anger and fear, they are telling me there has to be space to recognise the humans on the other side of the fence. 1/7
‘I would love to be having a front page of The Telegraph with a plane taking off to Rwanda. That’s my dream. That’s my obsession’ Home Secretary Suella Braverman
A🧵 on first PM calls.
I was doing foreign policy in
@10DowningStreet
last change of government - 2010.
Day before he resigned, Gordon Brown leant over to ask me what I was working on. It was brief for David Cameron’s first call with Obama. I stuttered reply. Gordon chuckled.
“All my life I’ve been grateful for contribution France has made … for sense of personal liberty and rights of man which has radiated from soul of France … Show me moment when I swerved from this conception, and you will show me moment when I have been wrong”
#TheJuryIsNotOut
I’ve spent most of my adult life outside 🇬🇧, mainly Asia, Africa, Europe.
We benefited from decades when - justified or not - there was genuine international perception of 🇬🇧 competence.
That treble A rating for competence is hard won, lost fast, and will be hard to get back.
RIP Khaled. Very few are called to show such great courage and humanity. Even fewer could do what you did. A challenge to all of us to consider what we would die to protect.
A solemn day for
#Syria
.
The remains of heroic Syrian archaeologist Khaled Al-Asaad have been found near Palmyra today.
Al-Asaad was beheaded at 83 by ISIS in 2015 for refusing to lead them to the locations of Palmyra’s hidden antiquities.
He can now finally rest in peace.
I covered Northern Ireland in
@10DowningStreet
for four years. Most important work was done by NIO. But there were moments when PM had to rip up grid, cancel break, let people down, stay up late, hit phones, spend, flatter, arm twist, and do nothing else for week.
This is one.
There is a chair at No 10 cabinet table always pulled out. The only one with two arm rests: the boss’s seat, Churchill’s chair.
@SenJohnMcCain
came in March 2008. Tired by an Iraq visit, he sat on the chair.
Anyone else we would have asked to move.
RIP
I worked for three PMs in No 10.
“Boss, lockdown party. Drop in, say few words?”
TB: Bad, bad idea. Talk to JP/PM/AC. No.
GB: If I see hint of party I will kill you. Work on global vaccination. Get
@POTUS
on phone, now.
DC: WTF? Talk to Ed: you’ll be happy in Mongolia.
I was in No 10 in 2009 when UNSC voted on SCR 1860, calling for ceasefire between Israel & Hamas (conflict had killed 13 Israelis and over 1000 Palestinians). PM instructed we move from abstention to vote for ceasefire, against massive US pressure. US then shifted to abstention.
There are two kinds of graduation speeches: those that make you think the speaker is amazing; and those that make the students feel they can be amazing. Sometimes you get one that does both.
Congrats to the high school Class of 2020, as well as to the teachers, coaches, and most of all, parents and family who’ve guided you along the way. Thanks for letting me be part of your big day!
And the issue more important than letters and spats is that many more people, with names and stories, fears and hopes, will die in our sea.
If the first thought is how do we handle our media on this, or get one over Macron, then we have come to a very, very bad place.
It is so hard to see through the pain, horror, anger; beyond deep wounds of history.
I don’t underestimate how hard it will be.
But starting point has to be that both Palestinians and Israelis have right to security, justice and opportunity in lands they can call their own.
Solidarity with 🇺🇦.
Condemnation of Putin’s invasion.
Throughout weekend staff and students will collect provisions for displaced, and
@HertfordCollege
will cover transport costs through Poland. We have been overwhelmed by response in first few hours.
#StandWithUkraine
️
Great speech by John Kerr in House of Lords.
The UK is not a popular destination for refugees. We’re way down the list.
The dangerous sea route is the only refugee route now our govt have shut safe routes.
The facts do not support govt case for cruelty.
Our influence limited, but we can avoid adding fuel to fire. By showing genuine solidarity with innocent victims on all sides; condemning terrorism/violence against civilians; calling for restraint, respect for international law; getting aid to civilians suffering most. 6/7
And, hard and thankless as it will be, carving out genuine time, patience, courage for real peace process that can break vicious cycle and give Israelis and Palestinians the security, freedom and rights they crave.
That’s what friends, both sides of fence, asked me to say. 7/7
Happy World Turtle Day 🐢.
Proud to be a (junior) turtle monitor on Saadiyat Island. Team have found and protected five nests this month, some hopefully hatching in next few days. 🤞
PLEASE cut back on plastic.
Met this bruiser on Necker Island a few weeks ago.
I was in No 10 for last big Israel/Hamas confrontation, 2008.
V hard to get language right.
But I’d suggest start with unequivocal condemnation of terrorism and military action against civilians + unequivocal support for international law, UN, humanitarian access, restraint.
In touch with so many friends in Lebanon, Israel, Palestine. A grim and terrifying moment for so many civilians, who did not choose this horror. Somehow, amid the anger and fear, they are telling me there has to be space to recognise the humans on the other side of the fence. 1/7
Thrilled to be heading back to
@UniofOxford
@HertfordCollege
Fragile moment for higher education, UK and global politics. I will do all I can to support Hertford and Oxford as they defend reason, expand access to opportunity, and nurture the next advances in human ingenuity.
I was in No 10 in 2009 when UNSC voted on SCR 1860, calling for ceasefire between Israel & Hamas (conflict had killed 13 Israelis and over 1000 Palestinians). PM instructed we move from abstention to vote for ceasefire, against massive US pressure. US then shifted to abstention.
I hesitated to tweet, and will probably quickly regret it, as neither X nor the region seem places that encourage nuance right now.
But also because as a Brit – as allies and opponents in the region always reminded me – our history doesn’t allow us much moral high ground.
2/7
There are three ways to settle this, all hard.
1. Leave it to whichever God you think gave you the land. Personally, I wouldn’t wait.
2. Fight it out. Strongest side wins and weakest makes it impossible for them to enjoy it.
3. Compromise: share land or establish two states.
That has failed because peace is not in interest of powerful men in region (Iranian regime, Israeli hard right, Hamas); US alliance with Israel means they can’t do deal; weakness of UN, Europe, Palestinian/Israeli moderates; and eye for eye logic of violence, terror, retribution.
Of course: no easy solutions. But every one that reduces grim loss of life requires UK/French partnership.
So start there. Show common cause, turn volume down, build trust, work phones, don’t start day with media digest, work with great UK/French diplomats on practical ideas.
I’ve been listening to friends in region/policy makers.
After horror of 7th October in Israel and long weeks of retribution in Gaza, several grim realities are becoming clearer to international policy makers, and to Israelis/Palestinians who crave an end to the violence.
1/
The French entry is every meeting I’ve ever had with French diplomats in the Quai d’Orsay. They don’t really care whether they win just as long as we know they will always be classier than the rest of us.
#Diploeurovision
Trump went off script when he added that those who voted against US in UN over Jerusalem embassy move were “enemies of America.”
The script just said money would "only go to America’s friends.” It didn’t class anyone as enemies
5. You don’t liberate civilian hostages by bombing other civilians. You don’t destroy terror through terror against the people you need to reject it. You don’t create a partner for peace through violence against the civilians you need as partners for peace.
Trump on immigration: "I think it's been very bad for Europe... you see the same terror attacks that I do... I just think it's changing the culture. I think it's very negative... I know it's politically not necessarily correct to say that, but I'll say it, and I'll say it loud."
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has confirmed that Priti Patel complained to the Irish government that Ireland’s welcoming policy towards Ukrainian refugees would allow them to reach the UK by the back door
For Lebanese, and all of us who love them, Beirut is the city you yearn to go back to, whether you’ve been away ten minutes or ten years. That’s why we feel such grief and fury. Never underestimate Lebanese resilience. But it is not just help they’re asking for, but oxygen.
"Lebanon at its best is this incredible model for coexistence... one in three people is a refugee. We have to stand by this extraordinary but battered population."
@TFletcher
warns that without support some countries could take advantage of the
#Beirut
explosion.
Full episode here:
Thanks for having me on,
@jonsopel
@lewis_goodall
@maitlis
. Important moment to try to move the discussion towards diplomacy, protection of civilians, and avoidance of escalation.
“If I was in No. 10 now I’d say let’s start with empathy and solidarity for the innocent victims of this - they didn't choose the horror.”
Former British Ambassador to Lebanon
@tfletcher
on the diplomatic response he suggests the UK take on the Israel-Hamas war.
@GlobalPlayer
In those roles I’ve been heckled off stage by Palestinian students; complained about to UK Minister by an Israeli Ambassador; targeted by Palestinian militants; and an Israeli PM once threatened to have me fired. Every morning in Lebanon began with reports from tense borders. 4/7
“Concern”?
How about: “This is a strategic defeat for NATO and a tragedy for Afghans. Without US we are not strong enough to stop it. Pay tribute to all who sacrificed lives. Offer refuge to those who worked with us for free Afghanistan. And, this time, we will learn lessons.”
We also have to recognise our personal filters. Mine include: I taught English in Israel in 94, worked on what we then called Middle East Peace Process at Foreign Office in 97/8; on Israel/Hizballah 2006 (in Paris), Israel/Hamas 2008 (in No 10); and as Ambassador in Beirut.
3/7
Discovered during yesterday’s Spring clean.
Might keep this handy for the next time someone moans about today’s students getting too easily distracted.
Congratulations to the 220
@HertfordCollege
students who just matriculated
@UniofOxford
. A group that has already overcome so much to get here, now setting out with hope, energy and huge potential.
Gary Neville’s three actions are a challenge for all of us. Basically:
- what can we do differently to avoid spreading the virus?
- what are we doing to protect and support those relying on us?
- how can we support the people society asks to be on frontline of response?
At the UN we're always asked to do more & give more. So, when we make a decision, at the will of the American ppl, abt where to locate OUR embassy, we don't expect those we've helped to target us. On Thurs there'll be a vote criticizing our choice. The US will be taking names.
This photo has rightly caught our attention. Partly the anger and frustration that Angela Merkel's team must have felt to tweet it.
But more because it captures a moment of great jeopardy.
1/
Slept under desk six times
@10DowningStreet
2007-2011. Sadly boozing not involved. Hostage; terror; behind on work; crash; G20; Afghanistan. Lunch a rare thing.
So, not *that* long-standing.
(And to be fair, I’m sure my successors on foreign policy have similiar existence).
A long-standing drinking culture in Downing Street saw staff start boozing at lunch and waking up there in the same clothes the next day, a former No 10 official has said
✍️:
@BlewettSam
One odd reaction to
@UKinUSA
cables is that Kim Darroch was ‘undiplomatic’. It has always been a crucial role of ambassadors to be candid in private with their governments. The admirably frank and indisputable assessment of Trump is less the issue here than who/how/why of leak.
There are negative consequences to military action, and to inaction. Intervene in Middle East, it bites you back. Fail to intervene, it bites you back. Swing between the two, it bites you back. 1/
On
@BBCr4today
on Israel/Gaza this morning, I suggested:
1. It is time for the UK to get off the fence and say, unequivocally, that all violence against all civilians must stop.
Nothing let down Afghanistan more than the manner of our leaving it.
Once decision taken to exit, it was always going to be a mess, move beyond our control, fail Afghans.
But it didn’t have to be such a mess, move so fast and far beyond our control, fail so many Afghans.
After meeting I asked
@SenJohnMcCain
for advice for book I was doing for my son ().
He wrote: ‘Dear Charlie, there is no greater vocation than to serve. But there is no greater purpose than to love. Live a life that does both, and you’ll be truly happy.’
@GusODonnell
@RestIsPolitics
Intriguing to see who calls when in coming days. 🇨🇳? Excellent No 10/PM teams will have all in hand.
Calls will be short, but set tone for busiest first month of statecraft of any PM since WW2.
Here’s blogpost on perils of congratulatory call:
8/8
I left FCO because
@SueGrayCO
(rightly) said I couldn’t publish book on diplomacy while a 🇬🇧 diplomat.
She has been placed in an uncomfortable position.
I have zero idea what she will conclude.
But be in no doubt: an army of us will defend her integrity and professionalism.
Putin’s military escalation is underway: he is once again doubling down on brutality and violence. Sadly we have seen this before, and need to learn the lessons of our failures to respond in Syria. 1/
@GusODonnell
@RestIsPolitics
Call was businesslike. I had spent all day persuading White House to ensure Obama used the words "special relationship", always a UK media obsession. Punched the air a little too vigorously when he did. Fortunately new PM glowed too.
We had media briefed moments later.
5/
The theatre of this encounter may in the end say more than the substance. But a five hour meeting, at this table, with this interlocutor, is a Nadalesque feat of stamina from Macron.
UK parliament/Gaza …
None of this matters? Not true. Friends of mine in Israel, Palestine and region messaging that they’re watching closely, especially those who want to isolate hardliners in Israeli cabinet and Hamas, and get back to work on two state solution.
1/
Doing the rounds @ BBC, Sky, LBC etc this afternoon to defend impartial, professional, brilliant public servants. We are in a fragile, unruly moment as a country - it is reckless to undermine such a fundamental and crucial foundation of our strength.
My first job was working on the tunnel 28 years ago.
There was constant media flak. Would tunnels from each end connect? What about flooding, crime, garlic glut, man sized rats? Wouldn’t a bridge be better?
Turns out to have been an incredible bridge after all. 🇫🇷🇬🇧
3. You don’t defend international law by acting as though its protections don’t apply to everyone.
4. Getting aid in - by land, sea, air - will save lives. But stopping bombing of civilians will save more lives.
@RoryStewartUK
@campbellclaret
@bbclysedoucet
@BowenBBC
Finally, closer to home, if our students - especially of course those with friends and families in region – need support, please let us know.
(That’s only thing I can usefully say right now, but I didn’t want to go straight to that without trying to articulate the rest of 🧵)
Today will be a long, hard day for Beirut and everyone who loves Lebanon.
Solidarity for all those remembering. Support for all those rebuilding. And a stubborn hope that one day we will see accountability, change and renewal.
❤️ 🇱🇧 💪
@GusODonnell
@RestIsPolitics
Then calls that night with Merkel 🇩🇪, Rudd 🇦🇺, Harper 🇨🇦. We nearly put through hoax Harper. Pizza in the office with DC and top team.
In one of those quirks of No 10, I was simultaneously on GB’s farewell calls, including Obama, Rudd, Cowen 🇮🇪, Netanyahu 🇮🇱. Bed at 1am.
6/
@GusODonnell
@RestIsPolitics
After emotional farewells once GB resigned we had frantic 40 minutes to sort office out, throwing ties and papers into cupboards. I changed red tie for blue/yellow one as we welcomed new team through black door. As we were clapped in new PM, I had moving call from outgoing one.