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Brave New World

As diplomats prepare for the post-Brexit world, film-maker Michael Waldman eavesdrops on uninhibited talk in Whitehall and in embassies in Nigeria and Mongolia.

In this second episode, we join the Europe director Caroline Wilson with Boris Johnson on their whistlestop tour from RAF Northolt to Lisbon and Paris.

As diplomats prepare for the post-Brexit world, film-maker Michael Waldman eavesdrops on Foreign Office discussions around the globe: in Whitehall, in far-flung embassies in Nigeria and Mongolia, and even on the former foreign secretary Boris Johnson's private plane, as he switches from speaking English to French.

We also examine how important trade with Commonwealth countries will become, and visit Lagos, where the traditional Queen's birthday party proves an opportunity for Foreign Office staff to make connections with the vibrant characters in Nigerian business. And, in Mongolia, Her Majesty's ambassador Catherine Arnold meets the Mongolian president, encourages a British company to debut anti-pollution face masks at an annual fashion show, and visits a ten billion dollar Rio-Tinto mine near the Chinese border.

59 minutes

Credits

RoleContributor
Series ProducerMichael Waldman
DirectorMichael Waldman
ProducerChris O'Donnell
Executive ProducerShona Thompson
Executive ProducerJonathan Smith

Broadcasts

  • Thu 22 Nov 201821:00
  • Mon 26 Nov 201823:15
  • Fri 14 Dec 201800:15

Find out more with the OU’s 'Guide to the Foreign Office'

Find out more with the OU’s 'Guide to the Foreign Office'

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