Foreign Office sidelined from Commonwealth leaders’ summit because it is ‘too Eurocentric’

‘A lot of ministers did not know what the Queen was talking about, saying Europe is the thing’

THE Foreign Office has been sidelined from organising the first Commonwealth leaders’ summit in Britain for 20 years amid concerns officials are too “dedicated” to the European Union.

Dozens of civil servants at the Cabinet Office have been given the job of setting up and running the summit, which now has increased focus because Britain is leaving the EU.

The news came as the head of the Royal Commonwealth Society said the Foreign Office has a “problem” with the Commonwealth because its officials are too used to dealing with the EU.

Next month’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, attended by leaders from the 53 member countries, is the first to be held in the UK since 1997, and will be attended by the Queen. Whitehall officials are said to be hoping to use the meeting to “step up” the pace of preparations for non-eu trade deals before Britain leaves the EU.

However, there are questions about the Foreign Office’s commitment to the Commonwealth, which is not named as one of the top priorities on its website even though its full name is Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

The Daily Telegraph can also disclose that officials from the British embassy in Washington DC failed to attend a reception to mark the opening of the Royal Commonwealth Society’s US office 10 days ago.

It was attended by Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary, and Betsy De Vos, the US education secretary, and Lord Howell, the president of the Royal Commonwealth Society. The reception was attended by eight Republican governors, who can agree their own trade agreements with the UK.

In an interview for Chopper’s Brexit Podcast, which is available on The Telegraph’s website, Lord Howell blamed a “mindset problem”. He said: “The FCO diplomats [like to] deal with other diplomats in other governments. The Commonwealth is [about] people... it is non-governmental.”

The Queen forecast a bright future for the Commonwealth when she said in a Christmas broadcast seven years ago that “the Commonwealth is the face of the future” . Lord Howell said: “A lot of ministers did not know what she was talking about, [saying] ‘Europe is the thing, we are lined up with Europe, we have finished with the Commonwealth’. They did not realise that one day the morning would come when suddenly we need to be very close to the Commonwealth indeed.”

Lord Howell said he did not believe the absence of any embassy officials at the society’s reception in Washington was intentional. He said: “I think they were just occupied with other things.

A FCO spokesman said: “The whole UK Government, including the FCO, is deeply committed to the Commonwealth. FCO officials are playing a key role in preparing for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April.

“Any suggestion that Commonwealth matters are either not a priority or will no longer be the FCO’S responsibility is utter nonsense.”