The former head of the Foreign Office Sir Simon Fraser has delivered a scathing attack on the declining influence of British foreign policy under the leadership of the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson.



In a major speech at Chatham House in London, Fraser said: “It is hard to call to mind a major foreign policy matter on which we have had decisive influence since the referendum.”

He warned that UK influence was already waning with “the vitriol over Brexit” undoing UK soft power and “revealing faultlines in our society and animosity towards foreigners”.

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Fraser, who was permanent secretary in the FCO from 2010 to 2015 and remains in close touch with serving diplomats, added: “Our political establishment commands little respect abroad, and the negative economic consequences of Brexit are beginning to show.”

With the foreign secretary facing calls to resign over his remarks concerning Iran’s imprisonment of the British dual national Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Frazer said the episode underlined how important attention to detail and precise language were in foreign policy, “especially with countries like Iran where relationships are sensitive and every word is scrutinised”.

“Successful foreign policy calls for careful analysis and sustained effort, not soundbites and wishful thinking,” he said.

Fraser also warned: “The Foreign Office is not geared up for the task ahead, and has been disempowered by the short-term reorganisation of Whitehall for Brexit – notably the unnecessary creation of a Department for International Trade. Whitehall will have to be restructured for the long-term.”

His remarks reflect a growing concern in foreign policy circles that Theresa May has yet to produce a plan to prevent UK diplomats being marginalised in Europe or elsewhere once the UK leaves the bloc.

Johnson, in evidence to the foreign affairs select committee last week, refused to spell out how he believed the UK could interact with the EU institutions post-Brexit, saying it was premature to do so.

In his speech Fraser suggested UK influence was already on the wane, pointing to a series of reverses including the UK’s call for new sanctions against Russia over chemical weapons in Syria.

Fraser, a remain voter who hopes that the UK may change its mind, also dismissed the idea of leaving the EU without a deal, saying: “Our relationships with other European democracies will remain central to our foreign policy. To contemplate simply walking out and looking elsewhere is a simplistic fantasy.”

He predicted Europe by contrast would “continue to discuss and take positions, day in, day out, week in, week out, in meetings where we will no longer as of right be present. Influencing from without is much harder than leading from within.”



He added: “Brexit weakens our hand on both sides of the Atlantic. For years we have exploited our role as what Tony Blair called “the bridge”, and Hague calls “the hinge”, between Europe and America. Now our purchase on both will be reduced. Washington will look to Berlin, because Germany will be strongest in Europe. Under President Macron, France is regaining momentum.

“Our bilateral relationships will be structurally weaker, not stronger, after Brexit, and France and Germany will be looking to work together through EU machinery.”

He even suggested: “Over time, leaving the EU will raise more eyebrows over our security council veto.”

Fraser suggested the UK should put forward well-crafted initiatives for how the UK and EU could work together in foreign, security and defence policy, as in other fields. He proposed working with the EU on sanctions, intelligence sharing, leading EU military operations, European defence procurement and higher defence spending.