Carne Ross heads the non-profit group Independent Diplomat.

Dear Sir,

I’m delighted to hear from [Foreign and Commonwealth Office permanent secretary] Simon Fraser of the efforts inside the FCO to promote ‘diplomatic excellence’ (see article). Not being a member of the FCO any more, I was not hitherto aware of this worthy programme.

However, I’m afraid Simon Fraser misses the main argument of my article – drawn from evidence requested by the foreign affairs select committee – which was about leadership, and not the inadequacies of officials, many of whom I admire and respect.

I failed to state clearly enough in my article that the primary failure in leadership is political – that ministers of both major parties have overseen a long-term decline in the foreign policy ambition of the UK. Britain’s relative – and unavoidable – decline in a multi-polar world should not be an excuse for this lack of ambition; on the contrary, it should serve as a stimulus for more aggressive and forward-thinking policymaking to capitalise on the many opportunities that still exist. The UK’s leadership with France on Libya perhaps stands out as a contra-example, but I fear it will be seen more as an aberration than an emerging new trend. 

I would be glad if British foreign policy in the future, perhaps reflecting the improvements described by Simon Fraser, were to prove me wrong.

Read Carne Ross's article and Simon Fraser's response.

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Written by Carne Ross