Meet Our Team
The British Foreign Policy Group (BFPG) is an independent, non-partisan think tank dedicated to advancing the UK’s global influence, at a crucial time in the nation’s modern history. Our core objective is to bridge the link between the domestic and international spheres – recognising that Britain’s foreign policy choices are shaped by our social landscape at home, and the social, economic and political constraints of both our allies and strategic rivals. BFPG works as the connective tissue between the UK’s policy-makers, businesses, institutions, and ordinary citizens, to promote the connectivity and understanding needed to underpin Britain’s national resilience and global leadership in the 21st Century.
Evie Aspinall
Director of BFPG, researching domestic consent for foreign policy and the UK's role in the world. Cambridge and King's College London graduate, former UK Head Delegate to the Youth7 and regular media commentator.
Aryan Sanghrajka
Award-winning young leader for refugees and human rights, and founder of global non-profit Forced To Flee. UNHCR Young Champion for Refugees who has represented youth at the UN General Assembly and Global Refugee Forum.
Dr Mafalda Dâmaso
Visiting Fellow at the European University Institute and King's College London, specialising in EU cultural and media policy and diplomacy. Principal Investigator on a Horizon Europe project on European film industry competitiveness.
James Jennion
Co-director of the Labour Campaign for Human Rights, working in transnational campaign strategy at a leading human rights organisation. Former adviser to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and senior political affairs adviser to UNICEF UK.
Michael Martins
Founding partner at Overton Advisory, a public affairs and geostrategy company. Former US State Department official at the Embassy in London and nearly a decade writing for the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Mohamed Cassimjee
Geopolitical analyst and former senior South African diplomat with over 26 years' service, including as Deputy Ambassador to Germany. Mentor at the Blavatnik School of Government and Research Associate at Oxford's Centre for African Studies.
Professor Jeremy Black
Prolific author of over 150 publications on international relations, British foreign policy and geopolitics. Professor at Exeter University and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.
Directors
Peter Dawson
Director and shareholder in Strategy International, formerly a director and CFO of Bechtel Group. Based between London and San Francisco, with degrees from Cambridge and active in educational philanthropy.
Peter O'Kane
Co-founder of BFPG and Chairman of the Strategy International Group, with extensive connections across the Asia Pacific region. Former chair of a leading pan-Asian investment bank, with law degrees from Cambridge.
Tom Cargill
CEO of Wilton Park and founder of the British Foreign Policy Group in 2016. Career spanning public, private and NGO sectors, including 10 years at Chatham House and senior roles at Bechtel.
Advisory Board
Andrew Hawkins
Founder and CEO of Whitestone Insight, a Westminster-based polling and research consultancy. One of the UK's best-known figures in polling, having founded ComRes and advised clients including government on foreign policy-related issues.
Cat Tully
Leads the School of International Futures (SOIF), using futures thinking to inspire change at local, national and global levels. Former Strategy Project Director at the UK Foreign Office and Policy Adviser in the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit.
Colin Smith
Coordinator of the analytical support and sanctions monitoring team at the UN Security Council. Over 25 years in the UK diplomatic service with postings across five countries, specialising in national security and hybrid threats.
Daniel El-Gamry
Head of Engagement for the Leader of the Opposition, formerly Senior Special Adviser to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. Worked on UK accession to CPTPP and coordinated the first cross-government action plan to promote racial equality.
David Thompson
British Council's Director UK and External Relations, coordinating interactions with the UK Government across all four nations. Previously worked at the Russell Group with leading research-intensive universities and is a Director at the Great Britain-China Centre.
Denisa Delić
Director of Advocacy at the International Rescue Committee UK, with nearly a decade's experience in UK foreign policy and humanitarian issues. Previously Head of UK Influencing at Save the Children and Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre.
Fergus Drake OBE
CEO of Cumberland Lodge, formerly CEO of Crown Agents where he played a critical role in the COVID-19 response and Ukraine emergency. Previously Executive Director of Global Programmes at Save the Children, awarded an OBE for services to UK/Ukraine relations.
Juliet Dryden
CEO and Director of the British International Studies Association, supporting the scholarly community in international studies. Previously worked for the United Nations in Gaza, Jerusalem and Amman, and member of Chatham House's Governing Council.
Lovejit Dhaliwal
Award-winning journalist covering international affairs for over 20 years for the BBC, reaching audiences of up to 130 million. Has reported on events from the Arab Spring to the Ukraine-Russia war, climate change and the global pandemic.
Matthew Otubu
Head of Strategic Communications for International Projects at the Cabinet Office, leading on UK security, defence and foreign policy priorities overseas. Founder of Black Politicos and board member of Mission 44, Sir Lewis Hamilton's charitable foundation.
Ruby Osman
Policy adviser at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, leading the institute's China work and supporting senior leaders on China strategy. Regular commentator on China's foreign and domestic policy for BBC, Reuters, TIME and Newsweek.
Internships and Work Experience
The British Foreign Policy Group provides substantive paid internship and work experience placements, largely in the area of Research. Any opportunities will be posted here. We do accept applications to our intern database on a rolling basis and often use this database for recruitment. Please submit your CV and a one-page cover letter explaining your interest in working with the BFPG and any relevant research interests you hold, to hello@bfpg.co.uk. Please note that only successful applicants will be notified. We kindly request that you please do not contact individual members of the BFPG team with unsolicited applications.