[1] He attended Worcester College, Oxford and gained a BA (Hons) degree in modern languages.

He spent a year in the FCO's Counter Terrorism Department before being appointed Director, Advanced Technologies, UK Trade & Investment.

Two short assignments at the FCO followed before he was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Yemen in July 2007.

[3] On 26 April 2010, Timothy Torlot survived a suicide bomber's attack,[4] responsibility for which was claimed by Al-Qaeda's Yemen wing.

[5] He was appointed head of the European External Action Service delegation to Bolivia in 2012.