Peter Ricketts

A spokesperson for the alliance said it would help advance security, stability, and cooperation in this vital region.

Uh, joining us now, uh, listening to all of that, Peter Ricketts, Lord Ricketts.

He's former UK permanent representative to NATO, who's also the, uh, UK government's first national security advisor.

Welcome back to News Hour, Lord Ricketts.

Hello and welcome to Frontland with me, Philip Ingram.

Now today on day 1664 of Vladimir Putin's 10-day special military operation or full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we're talking to an old friend of the show, Lord Peter Ricketts.

Lord Ricketts, stellar career, former British diplomat, also the British government's first national security advisor and permanent undersecretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and head of, it was then Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service, now His Majesty's, but you're out of that now.

Lord Ricketts, welcome back to Frontline.

Good to be with you again, Philip.

Now, things have happened over the weekend, and it seems to be, reading the tea leaves, a change of tactics by the Russians.

So be out there, be active, but also base yourself solidly on a good working relationship with the EU.

Well, being active and building up on our international relationships will give us plenty more to talk about, because I think, as you've said earlier, none of these conflicts are going to go away anytime soon.

Our next guest will tell us why in the 1940s a number of diplomats helped to end World War II.

It's all in a new book written by Lord Peter Ricketts.

I was a diplomat for 40 years and I always felt when I read about the Second World War that the historical accounts were all about the battles and Churchill and the diplomats were rather airbrushed out.

But they had an absolutely crucial role during the war.

And the Good Friday Agreement is a very good example of diplomacy in action, being able to put longstanding conflicts and divisions to one side in the hope of building a more peaceful world.

The more we could have Good Fridays in some of these endless crises we have going on at the moment, the better it would be.

And that was Peter Ricketts.

Thank you for listening to us this morning and a big thank you to our team producer Mark McCleary and Adam Nixon and our studio manager Ryan May.

Then, nearly 1,000 years after it left, the Bayeux Tapestry is back on British soil.

I speak to Lord Peter Ricketts, the UK's Special Envoy who helped pull off the impossible.

Plus-

I think United States consumers are going to be hurt.

Tickets to view the tapestry at the British Museum sold out almost immediately they went on sale.

The artwork itself is astonishing, depicting the 1066 Norman conquest of Britain in vivid, colorful detail.

Amongst those tasked with making this moment a reality was Lord Peter Ricketts, who served as UK National Security Advisor, as Ambassador to France, and he is now the UK government's Special Envoy for the historic loan of the Bayeux Tapestry, and he's joining me now.

Lord Ricketts, welcome to the program.