Foreign Affairs
Foreign affairs is where Britain decides what kind of power it wants to be in the world. It covers diplomacy and alliances, the response to wars and crises, sanctions, trade relationships, international development and the management of the relationship with the United States and Europe. Much of it happens out of public view and is shaped by events the government cannot control, but the choices made about which conflicts to join, which partners to trust and which agreements to sign have consequences that reach back to security, the economy and the country’s standing for years afterwards.
The department responsible
Manages Britain's relationships with every country on Earth, and remembers fondly the years when most of those relationships ran themselves.
MPs scrutinising this most
By written questions tabled to the department this Parliament.
1. Rt Hon Wendy Morton Conservative8252. Andrew Rosindell Reform UK4263. Rt Hon Priti Patel Conservative4214. Mike Wood Conservative3065. James McMurdock Independent297Recent Commons votes
Bills and Acts
Investigations
The government says its steel trade measure applies to products that can be made in Britain. The Public Accounts Committee found that the commodity codes used to enforce it can also catch specifications that British producers do not make, leaving UK manufacturers facing a 50 per cent tariff on steel they cannot source domestically. The department acknowledged that smaller companies could be put out of business. A formal review is not planned for 12 months.
The Ministry of Defence eventually overturned 884 refusals involving former members of Afghan specialist units who had worked alongside British forces, after a review found that earlier decisions had been made without properly using records held by the UK government. A Defence Committee report found serious administrative failings and said the high reversal rate meant the original decisions could not be regarded as reliable.
Sir Olly Robbins was dismissed as the Foreign Office's most senior civil servant over the decision to grant Peter Mandelson security clearance. Three months later, the Foreign Affairs Committee found that Robbins had inherited an appointment No 10 had already announced, obtained royal approval for and presented to the United States. It concluded that his dismissal appeared to have taken place "without full due process and the establishment of the facts".
On 28 January 2025, UK Security Vetting recommended that Peter Mandelson should not receive Developed Vetting clearance for his new job as Britain's ambassador to the United States. The following day, the Foreign Office granted it anyway. More than a year later, Parliament still does not have the record showing in detail why the recommendation was rejected or what security measures were imposed as a result.
Donald Trump threatened on 26 June to impose a 100 per cent tariff on goods from countries that tax American digital companies. Britain already does. Its Digital Services Tax raised £808 million in 2024/25 and UK businesses exported £59.7 billion of goods to the United States in 2025. But as of 30 June, Trump had not imposed either tariff on British goods.