Meeting of the Parliament 12 December 2023
It might be helpful to the member and others in the chamber if I were to provide some background and context. In April, the former Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, wrote to me and issued inaccurate and misleading guidance to United Kingdom overseas missions regarding the Scottish Government’s international engagements.
I wrote to Mr Cleverly seeking agreement and consultation on how the guidance could be amended or withdrawn. I did not receive a reply. In October, I received another letter from Mr Cleverly, which raised the matter of a meeting between the First Minister and the Prime Minister of Iceland. That letter also contained inaccuracies. I wrote back to Mr Cleverly, but again I did not receive a reply.
This week, I received yet another letter, this time from the new Foreign Secretary, Lord David Cameron, which included the threat that was referenced by Dr Alasdair Allan. That was all the more surprising as, a few days earlier, Lord Cameron cancelled a meeting that we were due to have this week to discuss those issues.
The Scottish Government’s only interest in pursuing our international work is promotion of Scotland’s interests. Yesterday, we published detailed evidence setting out the way that Scottish Government international offices support trade, jobs and vital business connections. The report also refers, in positive terms, to the working relationship with the FCDO in overseas posts. I look forward to continuing to promote Scotland’s interests and to working with UK Government counterparts.