The first foreign official JD Vance met with after he returned from peace talks with Iran in Islamabad this week was not a diplomat or foreign policy official – it was David Lammy, the UK’s justice secretary and deputy prime minister.
Lammy will comply with his journey to Washington, the place he noticed the vice-president and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, with one other to Barcelona, the place he will characterize the UK at a convention of worldwide progressives, after which one to the Gulf.
The whistle-stop diplomacy from the former foreign secretary has prompted questions in Whitehall over who is actually driving the authorities’s foreign policy at a time when it is extra important than ever.
“Obviously the prime minister is in charge of the government’s foreign policy, especially when it is so important domestically as well,” stated one authorities official.
“Beneath him though there are quite a lot of people all of whom are doing slightly different jobs and who think of themselves as the real foreign secretary.”
Keir Starmer conducts a lot of Britain’s diplomacy himself, and can co-host an worldwide summit on methods to unlock transport in the strait of Hormuz this week alongside the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, in the meantime, has spent a lot of 2026 overseas, together with journeys to Washington, Ukraine and Saudi Arabia.
Cooper spent Wednesday in Berlin at a convention on the warfare in Iran, the place she was joined by two different ministers on separate missions. John Healey, the defence secretary, was in the metropolis to speak to counterparts about Ukraine, whereas the Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds was there to debate the authorities’s makes an attempt to forge nearer EU relations.
Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s nationwide safety chief, joined the prime minister on his current journey to the Gulf and stays his most trusted adviser on foreign affairs.
“Jonathan is the most significant influence on Keir’s foreign policy thinking,” stated one senior authorities aide. “The two of them are similar in the way they prioritise diplomacy.”
Others additionally play an important role, together with Varun Chandra, Starmer’s chief enterprise and commerce adviser, who was shortlisted for the role of US ambassador and maintains a very good relationship with Howard Lutnick, the US commerce secretary.
Hamish Falconer, the Middle East minister, has a selected job promoting UK insurance policies to companions in the Middle East and to important group teams in the UK.
Emily Thornberry, the Labour chair of the foreign affairs choose committee, stated: “Foreign policy has never been more important in my lifetime – it is essentially domestic policy these days. That means there is more than enough work to be done, whether that is by Jonathan Powell, David Lammy, Yvette Cooper or the Foreign Office more generally.”
As for Lammy, he has stored a foreign policy temporary even after being moved out of the Foreign Office and into the Ministry of Justice.
His role, say allies, is to foster relations with different deputy leaders, together with in Europe the place they typically characterize one other get together in a coalition and so might be important conduits. When he travels to the Gulf he will likely be speaking to international locations Starmer did not have time to go to on his current tour.
Chief amongst Lammy’s relationships is his bond with Vance, with whom he struck up a friendship when the pair had been in opposition. Those near them say the two share many issues in frequent, together with an impoverished background, a love of writing and a robust Christian religion.
Over the course of a 45-minute dialogue in the White House on Monday, the two talked about the route of the peace talks and the way the UK and US may collaborate on liberating up transport in the strait of Hormuz, in line with individuals briefed on it.
They added that Lammy did not have a selected request to make of his counterpart and was as in listening to about the Islamabad talks as the rest.
With relations between Starmer and Trump strained, many in authorities imagine Lammy’s relationship with the highly effective vice-president could possibly be important.
“It is the warmest bilateral relationship we have right now,” stated one. Another added: “It is significant – it is a real channel of communication.”
Some in authorities see Lammy’s sturdy US ties and his frequent foreign journey as a problem to the authority of his successor, Cooper. The foreign secretary is attributable to journey to Japan later this week through the Gulf the place a lot of the authorities’s worldwide exercise is centered.
Cooper has refocused the Foreign Office since she took over, telling officials to prioritise work on fragile and conflict-affected states, humanitarian help, tackling violence in opposition to girls and women and combating world well being threats.
She has additionally labored on getting European allies to cooperate on makes an attempt to curb irregular migration, a spotlight she introduced together with her from her time as house secretary.
Cooper speaks to Rubio as soon as per week, and met the US secretary of state in Washington in February.
To a big extent, say authorities sources, the most important foreign policy official in the British authorities will depend on what is on the agenda.
When Starmer was working in direction of a commerce take care of the US, Chandra grew to become an in depth confidant. When he has sought to enhance relations with Beijing, he has relied on the diplomatic ability of Powell. Now that the US relationship is being questioned, Lammy’s relationship with Vance has grow to be a significant line of communication.
“Right now, when what is happening in the US and Iran is having such an impact on Britain, we need to take advantage of every connection we have,” stated Thornberry.
