Too many diplomats?
Sir: Unless there was a misprint Mr L. R. Pettigrew, whose letter criticising British representation in Thailand you published on 28 May, seems to have got his facts wrong. When I was Ambassador there between 1970 and 1973 the size of the British community was many times the 200 he mentions, and I understand that the present figure is around 1,600. Again, in giving the expatriate staff of the Embassy as 'more than thirty' he would seem to have included the staff of a regional aid organisation which though based in Bangkok covers the whole of the Far East.
But it is not only for its factual inaccuracy that Mr Pettigrew's letter is objectionable. In placing in juxtaposition the increase in the Embassy's commercial staff and the decrease in the UK's share of the Thai market he clearly seeks to convey the impression of cause and effect. If Mr Pettigrew has as long a business experience as he claims. he must know that this is nonsense. When in Bangkok I made a point of seeing personally as many British business callers at the Embassy as I could and I am sure that I saw over ninety per cent of them, but never once did I hear any criticism of my commercial staff: on the contrary the corn pliments paid to them for their industry, local knowledge and general helpfulness were so frequent as to be almost embarrassing. But let a far greater authority than I put Mr Pettigrew right. In the Financial Times of 30 May Sir Derek Ezra wrote: 'If there is a weakness in Britain's overseas sales it lies not in the lack of effort by our diplomatic representatives in identifying potential business but in our ability here in Britain to seize to the full the opportunities they bring to our notice'.
Mr Pettigrew's final sentence about Britaish diplomats regarding themselves not as public servants 'but rather as members of a precious elite' is perhaps damaging to Mr. Pettigrew himself than to those he seeks to criticise. It certainly makes one wonder what motivated his letter.
(Sir) Arthur de la Mare The Birches, Onslow Road, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey
Previous page
