London: Sir Richard Stagg, the British
high commissioner in India, is likely to move as the next
ambassador to Washington and may be replaced by Sir Sherard
Cowper-Coles, UK`s envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The reshuffle is expected as part of key moves planned
in the Foreign Office by the new government, reports here
said.
Stagg may be replaced by Cowper-Coles, who has gone on
"extended leave" from Kabul and is almost certain not to go
back, the reports say.
The Independent reported today that significant
changes may take place in the diplomatic service to accompany
the recent overhaul of foreign policy by Foreign secretary
William Hague.
The newspaper reported that key posts in Washington,
Paris and Delhi as well as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
in London may change hands.
Mentioning the likely change in Delhi, the report
said: "The Indians, with their civil service culture stuck in
many ways in the days of the Raj, were rather taken aback by
the informal style of Sir Richard, a former press spokesman in
Brussels, when he arrived, but since then he has described by
one diplomat as a `charming man with twinkling eyes`".
Stagg`s popularity, the report said, may be a factor
against his going to the US as the new government is keen to
nurture ties with emerging powers.
Prime Minister David Cameron is scheduled to lead a
large delegation to Delhi, where the coalition government is
keen to operationalise its promise to forge a `new special
relationship` with India.
PTI
