Palmerston of the FCDO sez: we’re good, we have snowflakes.
Sometimes, ‘events’ in world politics illustrate in a horrible way how unfit our institutions are. We had the Raab defenestration at the weekend where the intervention of the FCDO mandarin was deemed to be ‘proof of guilt’. ‘Informed’ readers in the Westminster MSM were still howling that he should have been sacked due to his ‘absence’ at the infamous Afghanistan retreat rather than because he was ‘intimidating’. And now this: the current situation in Sudan where a bloody civil war has kicked off about a week ago.
First the obligatory look at the collected print front pages: “Newspaper headlines: ‘Get them out’ Sudan and Len Goodman gets ‘a perfect 10’” (link) – the ‘issue’ being to get the 4,000 ‘Brits’ out. Next, let’s see what the Westminster press had to say.
Yesterday evening there was a report in the DT that France and Germany were evacuating their citizens on military transports and had kindly taken a few Brits as well. Sadly, it now seems to be customary for the Westminster MSM to ‘refresh’ reports and articles rather than publish new ones. Hence I cannot give you the link I saved last evening because this now refers to ‘Teh Latest!’, i.e. that there’s a momentary ceasefire. This seems to’ve been negotiated by Macron. And what did we do? Well, “we” called in the SAS (all emphases are mine:
“Rishi Sunak dispatched the SAS to rescue about 24 British diplomats, staff and their families from the Khartoum embassy, and about a dozen more people from Norway, France and the Netherlands. Giles Lever, the British ambassador in Sudan, and his deputy weren’t on the flights. They were already out of the country on holiday but their colleagues were said to be under immediate threat.” (paywalled link).
Well, that is embarrassing. Far more embarrassing is that “we” aren’t getting ‘our’ people out. Next, look at this:
“Ministers had warned earlier they could not promise to rescue up to 4,000 British citizens and residents in the country, including 70 NHS doctors trapped by fighting. The treatment of UK citizens in Sudan had been “appalling”, according to one British businessman who was evacuated by the French. “The French have been absolutely incredible, amazing. I can’t thank them enough for saving my life,” the man told the BBC, asking to remain anonymous. As European nations continued to bring out citizens, the Prime Minister said the UK was working “round the clock” to rescue British nationals. Rishi Sunak said the Government was “urgently exploring all routes for British nationals to leave Sudan”.” (paywalled link)
The ‘appalling treatment’ doesn’t refer to the fighting factions but to the British embassy personnel. After all, ‘Brits’ are entitled to get 24/7 service, no matter what.
I’ll get to the 70 NHS doctors below, but let me first ask: where’s the Foreign Sec? We do have one, don’t we! Was it he who allowed the diplomats to be evacuated so that there’s just one person, allegedly, remaining behind? Or did his wonderful mandarins and serpents decide this without his input? Why is there not a scintilla of criticism regarding the FCDO to be found? Would that be racist, or ‘bullying’ and intimidating?
Meanwhile, the glorious Times, Remain Central and spearhead in the campaign to get rid of Raab, went a step further, using this tear-jerk headline: “Sudan conflict: Terrified NHS doctors stranded while diplomats saved” (link, paywalled) – oh dear! Is it now ‘doctors first’? According to this doctor, yes it is:
“Dr Tarig Hassan, 32, an orthopaedic surgeon at Manchester Royal Infirmary, who is stuck in Khartoum, demanded the Foreign Office step in to help doctors. He had travelled to Sudan to celebrate the end of Ramadan with his family. “It’s an absolute disaster what is happening now,” he said. “No one is safe in the whole city, we could be randomly killed at any time […] He said it was “shocking” that diplomats were evacuated while British passport holders and residents were left stranded without supplies. “We’ve worked for the NHS, we sacrifice our time and effort, we deserve to be looked after at this difficult time,” he added.” (link, paywalled)
Yes, holding a British passport while having dual citizenship now entitles one to get preferential treatment, especially as a NHS doctor! I wonder how many of those striking junior doctors used that opportunity to visit their families elsewhere because of Ramadan, but let that pass. Meanwhile there were ‘statements’ from the FCDO:
“Ministers have admitted that only limited assistance can be given to 400 British citizens and 4,000 people with dual citizenship who remain trapped in Sudan, where the main airport has been the scene of some of the most intense fighting. The Foreign Office has faced questions after The Times revealed that the British ambassador to Sudan, Giles Lever, was on holiday when hostilities began.” (link, paywalled)
If you desire to read a lengthy report on all those 4,000 dual-passport ‘Brits’, or about how the SAS got the diplomats out while Rishi plans an evacuation by the Royal Navy, see the main article in this morning’s DM.
I have a few questions which aren’t addressed by the Westminster MSM, for example: is MI6 now so bogged down in the Ukraine that they had no idea this civil war was brewing? Was the hapless ambassador unaware of the seriousness of the situation, thinking his deputy would be able to manage, thus happily taking his holiday? And isn’t it strange that “we” have so many dual-citizenship ‘Brits’, clamouring for rescue, while generous France and Germany seem to have around 400 proper citizens, just as we do?
Even more important are these questions: what did the FCDO Minister know and when? Was he informed by his serpents? Is Sunak taking the lead on this issue because he knows his minister is, ahem, not sufficiently ‘robust’ or ‘intimidating’ but is a helpless puppet for his mandarins?
I wonder, again, if there’s no criticism of Mr Cleverly because a) that would be racist, and b) because he’s a creature of his mandarins who protect him, unlike the former FCDO minister, a certain Mr Raab. I ask because there are no leaks from ‘sources’ about what Mr Cleverly did or didn’t do.
I humbly suggest that the evolving Sudan scandal shows the need for ‘intimidating’ ministers, especially in the FCDO, who aren’t frit of telling mandarins and serpents to do proper work rather than fixate on their ‘hurty feelz’.
That’s all I have for today. I leave it to you to decide if the ‘reign of snowflakes’ in Whitehall is serving our country well. Have a good day.
This dual nationality scam must end, Those not willing to be solely Brits must get the heave hi!
Not born here, not British. Just give temporary residence
“Giles Lever, the British ambassador in Sudan, and his deputy weren’t on the flights. They were already out of the country on holiday but their colleagues were said to be under immediate threat.” How convenient!
I agree with HA below, ex pats making a killing working in war zones take their chances and should have smelt the coffee. My husband was a Chief Engineer on merchant ships and later a ship inspector for oil majors. He always knew if things were about to kick off and the companies always protected him.
As for those doctors celebrating the end of Ramadan in a perpetual hot spot, what part of their brains thought this was a good idea? As for 4000 British passport holders, well they are handed out like confetti everywhere but the U.K.
My first thought was 70 docs for just 4,000 people – so that’s where they they have all gone!
The UK government has a responsibility for people it sent to Sudan. The 4000 were not sent by the government but chose to go at their own risk. The FCDO may not immediately have known the number of people visiting for Ramadan.
Other countries have evacuated their nationals. Bully for them. In each case they had nationals numbering tens to hundreds only. Whether they could have got out 4000 in the same time is unproven and benchmarking the UK against them is a false equivalence. The real issue is that the UK has so many nationals there in the first place. Many had gone for Ramadan including NHS doctors whose primary loyalty is not, it seems, helping the UK’s NHS patients when the service is in crisis, but to their religion or family for a month long holiday.
The civil war looks like yet another proxy war between the US and Russia in that Sudan was warned by the US of consequences to granting Russia a base on its coast. By strange coincidence a civil war breaks out shortly after Sudan went ahead anyway,
First para sums it up well.
Surely the welfare of the illegal Channel crossers is more important to Sunak & Co. Here is a comment on their latest policy:
https://britishpatriot.substack.com/p/wet-wet-wet
No doubt Sunak and his minions are still subservient to their globalist mates at the WEF, UN etc. on their pursuit of a world government whilst we will be confined to their “15 minute cities” if they get their way.
The Brit residents in Sudan should have been well aware that trouble wasp brewing. Especially those of “duel nationality”. They clearly had the attitude “it can’t possibly happen to us”.
There won’t be many tourists there, these people are there for money, lots of it, especially where there’s the possibility of things going pear shaped. (Anywhere in Africa these days).
Greed can have it’s downfall. No need to feel too sorry for them. A bunch of failed chancers.
I know a few people who took this route and were able to retire young and very comfortably. The luckier ones that is.
Last week we saw departuure of the Raab, the Sunday fear alert shambles, the ‘New’ carrier being canabalised for spares to repair the other new ‘carrier’ , kite flying articles about the M.O.D sending a warship ( not yet built ) to the South China Sea to deter China, and now with our friends and partners across the E.U ‘we’ are going to deter aggressive acts against our windfarms in the channel by Russia, who are now apparently about to be defeated in the Crimea by forces of the Ukraine. Meanwhile 500 arrivals on Sunday at Dover goes unmentioned , but a news anchor being fired from an American T.V news show gets coverage in the UK’s MSM. You could not ‘ write it’ we are living the script of a 1960s Carry On film.
Not quite; Carry On films were funny, but now the joke is on us.