Asian embassies cut by Boris Johnson to fund EU diplomats
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/asian-embassies-cut-by-boris-johnson-to-fund-eu-diplomats-gl72m0gh7?shareToken=7d88e9d4536a8c06a9caf867d6d9b644
Boris Johnson is cutting staff in embassies outside the EU to bolster representation within the bloc despite claims of promoting “global Britain”.
The Foreign Office is hiring 50 extra staff to work in embassies across the 27 remaining EU member states, officials have revealed. It is also increasing the rank of ambassadors to smaller EU states to “senior management” as it seeks to influence Brexit negotiations.
To pay for the diplomatic surge it is hollowing out missions across the world, including in emerging markets in Asia and the Americas, removing diplomats and downgrading embassies. Critics said that the “reprioritisation” programme made a mockery of Mr Johnson’s claims to be readying the nation to take a more active role beyond Europe after leaving the EU.
The foreign secretary is one of the cabinet’s leading advocates of a “clean” to take maximum advantage of leaving the single market and customs union by striking free trade deals with other countries.
Details of the shift emerged when Sir Alan Duncan and senior officials appeared before the Commons foreign affairs committee last month to update MPs on the department’s preparations for Brexit. Caroline Wilson, Europe director at the Foreign Office, said that there had been a “big network shift to emerging market economies, including India and China” at the expense of European diplomacy in recent years. She said that the shift back to Europe was “redressing the balance”.
In his evidence Sir Alan said: “We are developing proposals for making savings across Asia-Pacific, south Asia and Afghanistan, the Americas and Africa to release about £4.2 million worth of savings to fund these 50 new jobs.”
In addition the Foreign Office plans to hire a further 50 staff at home to deal with Brexit.
Ambassadors in Malta, Luxembourg, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia are to be promoted to the senior management level. This will result in their salaries rising from a maximum of £68,539 to £117,800.
“Following the EU referendum, the work in those posts has become more important to us,” Ms White told MPs. She said that the Foreign Office was in negotiations with the Treasury cutting posts elsewhere in the world.
Officials refused to say how many jobs would be lost outside the EU and said that the creation of the Department for International Trade would ensure that Britain remained well placed to reap economic rewards from Brexit.
Ian Austin, MP, said that the reprioritisation showed that voters had been misled about the consequences of leaving the EU. “This shows an insular administration in retreat,” he said.