LONDON — The U.K. must “get its own house in order” if it is to set an example to the world on democracy and the rule of law, according to a former national security adviser.
Peter Ricketts, a retired grandee of the U.K. diplomatic service, said at an event hosted by the British Foreign Policy Group that he worried domestic political disruption could undermine the United Kingdom’s reputation and effectiveness internationally.
The country’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy has been thrown into uncertainty following the government’s cancellation of multiyear spending plans. But values, such as support for open societies, democratic governance and international law, are expected to form a significant aspect of post-Brexit foreign policy.
“We can really only advance on both our interests and our values if we set a good example at home.”
— Peter Ricketts, former U.K. national security adviser“If Britain is going on being an example in the world, as it has been I think in — as it has been throughout my 40 years as a diplomat — for democracy and the rule of law, it has to get its own house in order first,” Ricketts said.
He added that it was “quite alarming” to see the “rather casual attitude that the current government we have in London has had to all the conventions that protect parliamentary democracy in a country without a written constitution.”
He referenced Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s controversial decision to suspend Parliament — a move later deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court — for several weeks in August 2019. Critics accused Johnson of trying to avoid scrutiny of his plans for leaving the European Union, but the government insisted it was a normal procedure for a new prime minister to undertake.
Ricketts also mentioned the U.K. government’s “impatience” against parliamentary norms and a minister who openly admitted government legislation — also relating to Brexit — would break international law.
“To my mind, the rule of law, democracy, and human rights are a package. … [These factors have weakened] our force for diplomacy and force of example in the world, and it really worries me,” Ricketts said. “We can really only advance on both our interests and our values if we set a good example at home.”
His views were echoed by Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace who was also on the panel. She said the U.K. had been a “beacon” in international anti-corruption and press freedom efforts.
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But Kleinfeld said it was “hard to work on anti-corruption abroad without addressing the city and problems of money laundering through housing and other issues faced in London particularly. … So taking the anti-corruption rhetoric Britain is using abroad and the anti corruption actions, which are excellent, and applying them at home ... is an excellent case study.”
The United Kingdom’s international press freedom agenda also contrasted with the country’s libel law “cesspool,” Kleinfeld added. Its libel laws are often regarded by media advocates as restrictive to the workings of a free press because of the expense of legal cases.
“Tying those together to figure out a way to press freedom abroad while also dealing with this problematic part internally of your [U.K.] law could be an extremely important way for Britain to move forward,’ Kleinfeld said.
By getting “its own house in order and taking that humility abroad,” U.K. foreign policy could play an important values-based role in the world, she added.