This is regarded as one of the four most prestigious positions in the Cabinet – the Great Offices of State – alongside those of Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary.

The FCDO is managed day-to-day by a civil servant, the permanent under-secretary of state for foreign affairs, who also acts as the Head of His Majesty's Diplomatic Service.

For example, the chief minister of Anguilla, Victor Banks, said: "We are not foreign; neither are we members of the Commonwealth, so we should have a different interface with the UK that is based on mutual respect".

[9] During the 19th century, it was not infrequent for the Foreign Office to approach The Times newspaper and ask for continental intelligence, which was often superior to that conveyed by official sources.

[10] Examples of journalists who specialized in foreign affairs and were well connected to politicians included: Henry Southern, Valentine Chirol, Harold Nicolson, and Robert Bruce Lockhart.

One of the key messages of these discussions was the conclusion that the existing framework of ten international strategic priorities, dating from 2003, was no longer appropriate.

The new strategic framework consists of three core elements: In August 2005, a report by management consultant group Collinson Grant was made public by Andrew Mackinlay.

[16] On 25 April 2010, the department apologised after The Sunday Telegraph obtained a "foolish" document calling for the upcoming September visit of Pope Benedict XVI to be marked by the launch of "Benedict-branded" condoms, the opening of an abortion clinic and the blessing of a same-sex marriage.

Funding a particular project for a limited period of time does not mean that we endorse every single action or public comment made by an NGO or by its employees.

"[18] In September 2012, the FCO and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs signed a Memorandum of Understanding on diplomatic cooperation, which promotes the co-location of embassies, the joint provision of consular services, and common crisis response.

[19] In 2011, the then Foreign Secretary, William Hague, announced the government's intention to open a number of new diplomatic posts in order to enhance the UK's overseas network.

[23] This was following the decision in the February 2020 cabinet reshuffle to give cross-departmental briefs to all junior ministers in the Department for International Development and the Foreign Office.

[24] The merger, which created the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, took place in September 2020[25] with a stated aim of ensuring that aid is spent "in line with the UK's priorities overseas".

[27] The chief executive of Save the Children, Kevin Watkins, called it "reckless, irresponsible and a dereliction of UK leadership" that "threatens to reverse hard-won gains in child survival, nutrition and poverty".

[27]In November 2021, it was reported that an employment tribunal had ruled that the FCDO had racially discriminated against Sonia Warner, a black senior civil servant, by treating her unfairly in a disciplinary process.

[28] On 21 February 2022, UK Minister for Africa announced a new £74 million financial package to support women entrepreneurs across Nigeria, who own businesses and small and medium enterprises (SME's).

She said that the Foreign Office failed to support her when she attempted to expose corruption at the EU's rule of law mission (EULEX).

The Foreign Office said : "We have agreed to settle this long-running case without any admission of liability and continue to strongly refute these allegations.

[53] It moved to Trading Fund status in April 2008, so that it had the ability to provide services similar to those it already offers to the FCDO[54] to other government departments and even to outside businesses.

It takes calls from British Nationals overseas, usually in emergency situations such as lost passports, hospitalisations, deaths and arrests.

[64] The English sculptors Henry Hugh Armstead and John Birnie Philip produced a number of allegorical figures ("Art", "Law", "Commerce", etc.)

[65] During the Second World War, the Locarno Suite's fine furnishings were removed or covered up, and it became home to a Foreign Office code-breaking department.

However, the devolved administrations also maintain an overseas presence in the European Union, the U.S. and China alongside British diplomatic missions.