30 Apr BFPG’s March 2026 Review
April Activities
April has been a busy month for the BFPG, with four events spanning across the full breadth of foreign policy issues and engaging everyone from diplomats to politicians to academics to students.
We were delighted first to host His Excellency Sir Andrew Mitchell, British Ambassador to Germany, for a private roundtable to discuss UK-German and wider UK-European relations. We also had the opportunity later in the month to hear from Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel, who spoke at an in-conversation with our Chair David Landsman to discuss the wide-ranging foreign policy challenges facing the UK.
We have been proud to see the BFPG/BISA undergraduate network continue to produce fascinating events, including a panel discussion at the University of Manchester on Latin America, and an event at the University of Warwick on the future of UK-EU relations with His Excellency Pedro Serrano, EU Ambassador to the UK. If you are an undergraduate with an interest in international relations, geopolitics and foreign policy, then you can find out more or sign up to the network here.
Elsewhere, our Director Evie Aspinall has been promoting the work of the BFPG and the role of the public in foreign policy, speaking on a panel on national resilience and cyber security at the National Growth Debate.
Latest Analysis
Following the public intervention of Lord George Robertson criticising UK defence spending, Director Evie Aspinall argues that the key issue for defence spending isn’t how to do it militarily, but how to do it politically. – READ HERE
As King Charles’ visits the United States, we explore what the visit will mean for UK-US relations, and why, once it was announced, there was never any realistic prospect of cancellation. – READ HERE
Press Coverage
With King Charles III’s visit to the United States he became just the second British monarch to address Congress, following in the footsteps of his late mother in 1991. BFPG has been providing analysis on the visit, whether it should have been cancelled, and what it might mean for UK-US relations.
– In The I Paper, BFPG reflected on how the UK can best leverage the visit to its own advantage.
– On Bloomberg TV, Evie Aspinall appeared on The Pulse with Francine Lacqua to discuss the visit, wider UK-United States relations, and the conflict in Iran.
– In Time Magazine, BFPG looked back on Queen Elizabeth’s speech in 1991, and what to expect from the King’s address.
