LONDON: A senior Indian-origin British diplomat has resigned from the UK foreign office, criticising what he described as a “woke” culture within the department and accusing it of prioritising international law and activism over national security.
In a column published in The Times titled “Foreign Office fails to put Britain first,” Ameer Kotecha said Britain’s foreign policy had lost focus on national interests.
“Our impotence on Iran and craven surrender over Chagos happen when the long-term national interest is sacrificed to unquestioning worship of international law, the demands of noisy activist groups, or the appeasing of sectarian voting blocs,” he wrote.
Kotecha called for a “more ruthless focus on what benefits the British people” and said recent government decisions influenced his choice to step down. He cited the move to hand over the Chagos Islands and what he described as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s slow response to developments in Iran.
“Rather than a really clear-sighted, level-headed assessment of what’s in the national interest and what’s good for the UK, we’re instead having our entire foreign policy dictated by what the lawyers tell us international law requires. I’m ashamed to serve this government, so I’ve decided to throw the towel in,” he told The Times.
An Oxford University graduate, Kotecha resigned last month from his position at the British embassy in Tel Aviv.
In his column, he also criticised the functioning of the civil service, saying it had declined in efficiency. “If the civil service was once a Rolls-Royce, it is now a banged-up hatchback driven by someone with decidedly dicey vision and a passionate hatred of driving,” he wrote.
He argued that the country would not get back on track until both the system and its leadership improved.
Kotecha also cited examples to illustrate what he viewed as misplaced priorities within the department. He said that on the day Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021, he had been invited to attend an event marking World Afro Day, a celebration of Afro hair.
He added that during the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the main news on the foreign office intranet focused on “taking charge of your development”.
Kotecha further said that during discussions about improving productivity with artificial intelligence, some colleagues were more concerned about conducting environmental impact assessments. He also claimed that some staff preferred working from home because they did not want to work in what they described as a “colonial office building.”
