The Foreign Office has come in for a lot of criticism lately, following delays in
getting Britons out Libya. Some argue that it is all William Hague’s fault. Others that the department is unfit for purpose.
Both of these views seem a bit unfair. The FCO managed to help Britons in Tunisia and Egypt, and only came up short when the company they had used failed to take off for Libya. True, there should have been a better contract in place – which would give the FCO alternatives – but that hardly translates into systemic failure. True, ministerial divisions between Jeremy Browne, in charge of consular affairs, and Alistair Burt, who runs Middle East policy, did not help. But that’s probably inevitable.
A more damaging criticism is why the FCO – with its diplomats, embassies and analysts – failed to understand how brittle the North African regimes were.
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