Take a good, hard look at the world and what do you see?
It certainly feels unpredictable. Old friends are unreliable, and the rules no longer seem to apply. For many, the global neighbourhood is getting distinctly scary.
But don’t take my word for it. Listen to the head of UK intelligence agency, MI6.
“The frontline is everywhere,” says Blaise Metreweli, who used a recent speech to warn of “the menace of an aggressive, expansionist” Russia, as well as aggressive and expansionist individuals.
Her worries have been restated in remarks made by a host of military leaders. “The situation is more dangerous than I have known during my career,” said the chief of the British defence staff Richard Knighton.
“The response requires more than simply strengthening our armed forces.”
The specialists at the Foreign Office – including its embassies and consulates abroad – form a vital part of the country’s protective shield – and the woman in charge says she gets it.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has announced the formation of a “state threats unit” along with other initiatives to protect Britain in a world of “escalating hybrid threats”.
What senior officials are not talking about, however, are government plans to slash the workforce charged with countering these dangers.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (to use its full name) will be transformed under a new restructuring plan called FCDO 2030.
The process will result in approximately 2,000 job losses, or up to 25% of its total workforce – with fears of a jaw-dropping reduction of up to 40% in some London-based departments.
“The mood in some departments is despondent, even mutinous. (There is) very little trust in senior leadership of this…
