The former chief of the defence staff, the head of the BBC’s commercial arm and the chair of the Football Association are among the notable figures lined up to aid government efforts to deploy Britain’s ‘soft power’ more effectively on the global stage.
Sky News has learnt that General Sir Nick Carter, Tom Fussell and Debbie Hewitt have been appointed as inaugural members of the Soft Power Council, which is expected to hold a launch event in London later this week.
Its aim is to help the government decide how to deploy soft power ‘assets’ and where to support its foreign policy objectives, a Whitehall source said.
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The new council, which will be jointly chaired by foreign secretary David Lammy and culture secretary Lisa Nandy, would seek to underline the breadth and depth of the UK’s strengths in areas such as culture, creative, sports, education and the science and technology industries, the source added.
Among its other members will be Sir Peter Bazalgette, the former ITV chair; Dame Linda Dobbs, the first non-white judge in the senior judiciary; and Dame Katherine Grainger, the UK Sport chair and former Olympic rowing champion.
Tristram Hunt, the former MP who runs the Victoria & Albert Museum, Tom Kiehl, the boss of UK Music and Ewan Venters, the former boss of Fortnum & Mason who chairs the GREAT private sector council, have also been appointed to it,
The Global Soft Power Index ranked the UK second overall last year, although the Council’s launch comes at a time when many fear that Britain’s overall influence on the global stage is continuing to wane.
Earlier this month, the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee announced an inquiry into the extent and effectiveness of the UK’s soft power.
“While soft power is one of the UK’s greatest strengths, we can’t afford to be complacent,” Dame Emily Thornberry, the committee chair, said.
“Countries such as China, Russia and India are building up their soft power offer in the form of diplomatic, educational and cultural exchanges, and have shown they will fill any gaps left by the UK and other like-minded countries moving on.”
The Foreign Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport have been contacted for comment.
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