Cuts in the Foreign Office overseas staff reflect outdated and misguided thinking as well as austerity (Foreign Office overseas staff cut by 1,000 since 1989, say diplomats, 19 June). Soft power and human security should be the guidelines for the UK, long past being a major military force but still, Brexit notwithstanding, a skilful and influential player on the international stage: in the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and in countless other international institutions on which Britain’s prosperity and wellbeing depend. Maintaining and even strengthening the UK’s soft power – by supporting the BBC World Service as well as the Foreign Office – could reduce military risks, and save pointless military spending as on Trident.
Richard Jolly
Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex
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