Government replaces new Iraq envoy
Britain is reportedly replacing its current envoy in Iraq, just weeks after his appointment.
David Richmond will return to London from Baghdad and an as yet unnamed diplomat will replace him in the post. The new appointee will become the first ambassador to Iraq.
Mr Richmond took over as the UK’s special representative in Iraq from Sir Jeremy Greenstock at the end of March, having been his deputy. He had been accused by the Conservative Party of “punching below [Britain’s] weight” in Iraq.
Former foreign secretary Lord Hurd sparked calls for a more senior figure to be sent to Baghdad, suggesting former Nato secretary general Lord Robertson for the role. Tory leader Michael Howard called on the prime minister this week to replace Mr Richmond with a more senior envoy, so that Britain could take a greater role in decision making in Iraq.
However, the Foreign Office insists that the decision was made to coincide with the start of Iraq’s new interim government.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “David Richmond has served for nearly a year in Iraq. On June 30th the role of the special representative will be over and we will have an embassy established in the same way we do in other countries with normal diplomatic relations.”
The US is also appointing a new ambassador who will take up his post after the handover, scheduled for June 30th despite a recent surge in violence in Iraq.
Sir Jeremy, the former British ambassador to the UN, was a widely respected diplomat. Mr Richmond, though an experienced civil servant was not seen to be of the same calibre as Sir Jeremy.
