Exclusive: City firms matched with UK diplomats in growth push
Top City firms including Big Four consultancies are hosting Foreign Office diplomats as part of the department’s efforts to become the “salesforce for UK plc”.
More than 100 diplomats and representatives from professional services firms, including KPMG and EY, have been paired up in a bid to improve British business representation overseas.
The scheme was launched in March and includes quarterly events, with the aim of helping diplomatic staff to secure trade deals and foreign government contracts for UK firms.
It was announced last month in a speech by foreign secretary David Lammy that the department would embark on a “new partnership between government and business”.
But it also follows a commitment in Labour’s manifesto prior to the 2024 general election that in government the party would clamp down on “excessive use of consultants”.
Lammy told City PM his focus was on “backing British business in a changing world”.
The foreign secretary said: “I have asked my diplomats and policymakers to work much more closely with the UK’s world-leading financial and professional services firms, so that they can represent their interests overseas and be the salesforce for UK plc around the world, delivering for the hardworking British people.”
And he added: “The Foreign Office is taking a new and systematic approach to driving growth… under my leadership, the FCDO means business.”
The ‘buddying’ scheme, which officials say is the first of its kind, with the matching process now complete, includes corporate staff at all levels, including senior leadership.
And the department’s second permanent secretary Nick Dyer has met with senior partners at the participating firms to discuss ways to improve skills sharing with the private sector.
At his British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) conference speech in March, Lammy also announced new efforts to support businesses including: launching a delivery board for trade and investment wins overseas; a new “geopolitical impact unit” at the foreign office; a quarterly Lancaster House business engagement series; the diplomat placement scheme with businesses; and a geopolitical advisory hub within the BCC targeted at smaller firms.