British ambassador to Sudan was 'on holiday' when fierce fighting broke out between rival forces in Khartoum
24 April 2023, 20:09 | Updated: 24 April 2023, 22:46
The British ambassador to Sudan was "on holiday" when fierce fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary group in the capital Khartoum.
The British embassy was under the control of the director of development, whose role involves administering British aid, when the power struggle began in the city.
Giles Lever, the UK's permanent representative in the country, was reportedly among several diplomats who took annual leave over Ramadan.
The Foreign Office was said to be caught by surprise by the outbreak of violence between the two factions.
There had been a belief that violence was unlikely to erupt in the lead up to Eid, the Muslim festival celebrating the end of the fasting period of Ramadan, The Times reported.
A Foreign Office source told the outlet that ambassadors "routinely have the opportunity to return to London while in post", and a deputy was covering.
"The development official is the second most senior person in post and was thus in charge when the hostilities broke out.”
Speaking outside his London home on Monday, Mr Lever told MailOnline that he returned to London "For a scheduled holiday at Easter and have been unable to return. I had been working solidly on the problems in Sudan for three months before I left.
"I hadn’t seen my wife at Christmas and my holiday was approved by my boss. But I cannot get back there.
"But it is incorrect to say that the embassy had been abandoned. There was a very senior diplomat, my deputy, in charge while I took leave."
The diplomat said he had been working 20-hour days he arrived back in Britain, liaising with the Foreign Office and other officials to help Brits stranded in the country.
"It is a war zone there and no way I can return because there isn’t a means to get into Khartoum with the airport being decommissioned."
Mr Lever denied that his safety or that colleagues in the diplomatic service, had been given precedence over other British nationals.
"It is physically impossible to work from there or even get back there," he said.
He added: "There are people working around the clock to get British people out and to safety.
"I have been working in the crisis centre and talking to Ministers.
"If you go into the crisis centre you will find people there at 2am and at any time making efforts to organise evacuations."
Asked why the British Ambassador had been in London throughout the crisis, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: "There was senior leadership still at the British embassy in Khartoum.
"Actually having an ambassador in the UK being able to provide direct experience and knowledge to our crisis response centre here in London has proven to be invaluable.
