555:, private secretary to the foreign secretary, Jack Straw. The letter reveals that "we and the US would take action" without a new resolution by the UN security council if UN weapons inspectors showed Saddam had clearly breached an earlier resolution. In that case, he "would not have a second chance". That was the only way Britain could persuade the Bush administration to agree to a role for the UN and continuing work by UN weapons inspectors, the letter says. Dated 17 October 2002. "This letter is sensitive," Rycroft underlined. "It must be seen only by those with a real need to know its contents, and must not be copied further."
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The
Foreign Secretary said he would discuss this with Colin Powell this week. It seemed clear that Bush had made up his mind to take military action, even if the timing was not yet decided. But the case was thin. Saddam was not threatening his neighbours, and his WMD capability was less than that of
642:
Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record. There was
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457:. Rycroft previously served as Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Development (DFID) from 2018 to 2020 and as the Permanent Representative to the United Nations in
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administration which made it appear that at this point, while the public was still being told that Iraq could avoid an invasion by agreeing to abide by
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577:. In July 2008, he was appointed EU Director in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and then, in 2011, he became Chief Operating Officer. He became
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who ran the department from 2011. He was appointed
Permanent Under-Secretary of State of the Home Office in March 2020 following the resignation of
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509:. In 1995β96, Rycroft was Head of Section in the Eastern Adriatic Unit at the FCO: a demanding role, given the aftermath of the
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717:"Appointment of Matthew Rycroft as Permanent Secretary at the Department for International Development - GOV.UK"
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513:. Very soon after taking up this role, he served as a member of the British deputation to the
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bolstering the assertions of opponents of Bush and Blair that the invasion had been decided
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Rycroft's name became familiar to the general public as the author of a
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Change of UK Permanent
Representative to the United Nations in New York
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little discussion in
Washington of the aftermath after military action.
921:, A & C Black, 2014; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2013
768:"Blair and Bush planned Iraq war without second UN vote, letter shows"
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for services to
British diplomacy, development and domestic policy.
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Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for
International Development
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524:, where he served for four years. In 2002, Rycroft was appointed
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He has been considered as a future potential US ambassador and
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at the age of eleven. He studied mathematics and philosophy at
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The memo includes discussion of a "shift of attitude" in the
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Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for the Home
Department
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UK set to appoint new ambassador to US as soon as the summer
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Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Private Secretary for Foreign Affairs to the Prime Minister
493:(FCO) after graduation, in 1989. Following short spells in
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Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
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Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
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Ames, Chris; Norton-Taylor, Richard (29 August 2011).
505:, Rycroft spent four years at the British embassy in
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Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office
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Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office
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558:It was in this capacity that Rycroft issued the "
1046:President of the United Nations Security Council
927:Authorised Biography β Debrett's People of Today
673:with effect from January 2018. Rycroft replaced
573:From March 2005 to July 2008, Rycroft served as
1012:Permanent Representative to the United Nations
520:In 1998, he joined the British embassy in the
1175:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
551:. During this time Rycroft wrote a letter to
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889:(Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N4.
634:Military action was now seen as inevitable.
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794:(Supplement). 31 October 2003. p. 11.
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1090:Department for International Development
854:Department for International Development
671:Department for International Development
638:Furthermore, the memo went on to state,
219:25 April 2015 β 19 January 2018
153:22 January 2018 β 20 March 2020
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603:British Ambassador to the United States
535:, to advise him on matters related to
7:
985:Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina
575:Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina
287:1 March 2005 β 30 July 2008
665:Permanent Secretary at DFID and HO
619:, which printed it on 1 May 2005.
445:; born 16 June 1968) is a British
14:
829:Blair planned Iraq war from start
1155:Alumni of Merton College, Oxford
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861:from the original on 1 June 2021
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491:Foreign and Commonwealth Office
1160:British people of the Iraq War
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915:RYCROFT, Matthew John
857:. 29 September 2017.
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1005:Sir Mark Lyall-Grant
469:Rycroft was born in
176:Anne-Marie Trevelyan
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1039:Volodymyr Yelchenko
593:Downing Street memo
560:Downing Street memo
489:Rycroft joined the
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25:Sir Matthew Rycroft
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515:Dayton peace talks
159:Secretary of State
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1119:Home Office
1063:Nikki Haley
1050:March 2017
931:Appearances
881:"No. 63918"
865:11 December
786:"No. 57100"
751:11 December
726:11 December
658:North Korea
599:secret memo
497:and on the
471:Southampton
365:Southampton
317:Preceded by
251:Preceded by
244:Theresa May
183:Preceded by
172:Alok Sharma
129:Preceded by
91:Priti Patel
1139:Categories
1094:2018-2020
1016:2015β2018
989:2005β2008
962:2002β2004
746:www.gov.uk
721:www.gov.uk
703:References
533:Tony Blair
377:Alma mater
355:1968-06-16
306:Tony Blair
1128:Incumbent
978:Ian Cliff
503:Whitehall
475:Cambridge
371:, England
369:Hampshire
322:Ian Cliff
283:In office
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149:In office
62:Incumbent
859:Archived
807:, gov.uk
660:or Iran.
649:a priori
587:New York
501:desk in
459:New York
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656:Libya,
601:to the
581:to the
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292:Monarch
224:Monarch
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539:, the
495:Geneva
485:Career
507:Paris
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547:and
499:NATO
403:KCMG
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585:in
568:CBE
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