| CARVIEW |
All is not well over at the FCDO, where a large-scale headcount reduction is currently underway. Permanent secretary Olly Robbins said last month: “We still do not know what the overall numbers to leave the UK-based organisation will be over the next year or two.” The department is aiming for 25%. Morale is at rock-bottom…
Contributing to the sour atmosphere is wide discontent in diplomatic circles regarding the outsized influence of ex-Department for International Development staff in key roles. Everywhere from the FCDO’s supervisory board to diplomatic posts themselves…
DFID was merged with the Foreign Office in 2020. Foreign Office sources point out that former aid department officials are ensconced in top roles globally while FCO lifers are more often heading out of the door. They point the finger at High Commissioners, ambassadors, and consuls from Jerusalem to India, Peru, and Bangladesh coming from DFID. These appointments are still going on. Looks like merging DFID and FCO was another Tory error…
In the arcane world of British diplomacy this means top staff are more often than not coming from ‘outside.’ This can be a good thing, though under Labour perils of handing roles to non-diplomats are no better seen than in the Mandelson affair – the Washington Embassy continues to be in chaos…
Guido hears increasing numbers of frustrated diplomats are leaving entirely. If Reform gets into government the aid flunkeys will be in for a bit of a shock too…
Keir Starmer has slapped down Donald Trump over his claims that NATO and UK troops stayed “a little off the front line” in Afghanistan. Starmer said in Downing Street:
“I will never forget their courage, their bravery and the sacrifice they made for their country. There were many also who were injured, some with life-changing injuries. I consider President Trump’s remarks to be insulting and frankly appalling and I am not surprised they have caused such hurt to the loved ones of those who were killed or injured and, in fact, across the country.”
Strong words for a PM reversing the Northern Ireland legacy legislation. Trump at risk of turning a big week into a loss…
David Lammy has tried his best to maintain the trappings of his old job after his demotion in September. Remember – the guy goes around insisting that everyone calls him “Deputy Prime Minister” at all times…
Rayner went on some trips during her comparatively longer tenure as DPM. Lammy can’t get enough…
Since Lammy left the Foreign Office he’s visited:
- New York
- The Vatican
- Brussels
- The UAE
- Washington D.C.
- Ukraine
Guido has long–reported on Lammy’s love for luxurious travel. Lammy recently celebrated managing to get back into the FCDO building for a talk. He’s missing it…
Robert Jenrick has just released the receipts after Badenoch called him “a liar” for claiming the now-Tory Chief Whip Rebecca Harris said there was “a special place in hell” for him. The texts are damning:
Kemi’s clapback looking shaky now…
UPDATE: A Reform source said:
“The Tories lied to you in office and Kemi and her team have been caught red handed lying to the public again. Senior MPs at the heart of the Tory Party privately think it’s evil to spend money on our armed forces over foreign aid. They simply cannot be trusted to serve the British people.”
UPDATE II: A Conservative Party source said:
“Robert Jenrick is lying again and misrepresenting an exchange he had over two years ago. Those messages have absolutely nothing to do with cutting foreign aid. Instead they show a government whip trying to reason with someone who was working with the ‘Grid of Shit’ plotters, and whose scheming helped contribute to a Labour landslide and the worst result for the Conservative Party in its history. With his love of backstabbing and psychodrama, Jenrick will fit right in with Reform.”
New data shows that internet and communications regulator Ofcom has almost tripled the amount it spends on monitoring public use of Virtual Private Networks. Vital tools for circumventing the excesses of the draconian Online Safety Act…
A Freedom of Information response reveals Ofcom has spent almost £500,000 on monitoring how many people use VPNs since 2022. Spending has more than doubled in the lead up to and implementation of the OSA:
- 2022/23: £111,118.81
- 2023/24: £97,834.26
- 2024/25: £264,348.55
Such data would be vital to any government attempting to justify a crackdown on the software, which digital campaigners the Open Rights Group say are “an important cybersecurity tool for businesses, politicians, journalists and members of the public.” Government guidance has long recommended using them…
In 2022 Labour supported an amendment to the Online Safety Act which would “require the Secretary of State to publish, within six months of the Bill’s passage, a report on the effect of VPN use on Ofcom’s ability to enforce the requirements under clause 112. If VPNs cause significant issues, the Government must identify those issues and find solutions, rather than avoiding difficult problems.” A crackdown…
Ofcom says of its monitoring effort: “The work was undertaken to analyse the impact of the introduction of age assurance online. This is foundational work to assessing compliance, the efficacy of age assurance and to understanding the impacts on users’ safety online.” I.e. it wants to make sure VPN use doesn’t get too high – more regulation to follow…
Entries in the comments…
- Andrew Gwynne Confirms He is Stepping Down as MP
- Labour Confirms 29 Local Elections Cancelled
- EXC: US Considering Cutting Intelligence Sharing If Starmer Continues With Chagos Deal
- Government Suffers Massive Defeat in Lords Over Social Media Ban
- Jenrick Releases 'Special Place in Hell' Texts After Kemi Calls Him a "Liar"
- Andrew Gwynne Ties Up Personal Finances Before Seat Resignation
Speaking at Davos, Zelensky said:
“Europe loves to discuss the future, but avoids taking action today. Action that defines what kind of future we will have. That’s the problem.”
