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North Africa and the Near and Middle East

I could not agree more. This is not an either/or situation. I am deliberately being somewhat, or even intensely, polemical, so let me try to be more reasonable. Technology is not irrelevant and neither is it the case that the world has not changed since the 19th century, but it is important to recognise that the countries that pose the most trouble for us are often those we find the most difficult to understand. It is in precisely those contexts that deep knowledge of those countries and their power structures and relationships is required, and I think the same would almost certainly be true if one was trying to run a business selling into those markets. That applies not only to our diplomats' relationships with politicians and a Cabinet but also with rural populations and opposition groups. All of that would put Britain into the state of grace and provide the insurance policy on which this country depends. Moving towards a solution and a conclusion, the solution must lie in pushing ahead with the very reforms that the Minister and the Foreign Secretary have undertaken, but to push them harder and faster. The diplomatic excellence initiative that the Foreign Secretary has launched is a very good beginning. Even today, however, one still meets political officers in embassies who say that they cannot see how that will help them with promotion. They say, ““Focusing on policy work is not going to get me promoted because you haven't changed the core competences. It's management of two people and the DTI staff that will get me my next job.”” Those are the things we need to address.