Peter Ricketts

Peter Ricketts is a retired British diplomat. He served as Permanent Secretary of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, National Security Adviser and British Ambassador to Paris.

Policy shaped by personal conviction — False Prophets: British leaders’ fateful fascination with the Middle East from Suez to Syria by Nigel Ashton review

Peter Ricketts

Successive prime ministers behaved as if Britain had an outsized role to play in the troubled region despite economic pressures at home and public opposition.

Sir Alexander Cadogan — Churchill’s indispensable man

Peter Ricketts

Combining vision with pragmatism, Sir Alexander Cadogan sensed that Britain ought to be at the centre of a dense web of international connections if it was to help shape the post-war future.

Modern France and the ghosts of the past

Peter Ricketts

France, like all countries, is haunted by events and mistakes of times past. These ghosts will guide modern policy until they are overridden and laid to rest.

Peter Ricketts

Policy shaped by personal conviction — False Prophets: British leaders’ fateful fascination with the Middle East from Suez to Syria by Nigel Ashton review

Sir Alexander Cadogan — Churchill’s indispensable man

Modern France and the ghosts of the past

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