It is no secret that the British foreign office has always had a partisan mind of its own. Especially when it comes to the Middle East. Symptomatic is the fact that just a couple of months ago, Sir Oliver Miles (Britain's ex ambassador in Libya) wrote an article expressing concern that two out of the five members of the Iraq War Chilcot committee, Sir Martin Gilbert and Sir Lawrence Freedman, were “strong supporters of Tony Blair and/or the Iraq war”. He also pointed out that both Gilbert and Freedman were Jewish, and that “Gilbert at least has a record of active support for Zionism”.
Last week Sir Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador to Iran, accused Blair of trying to make confrontation with Iran an electoral issue after the former prime minister repeatedly singled out its Islamic regime as a global threat in his evidence to the Chilcot inquiry on the Iraq war. Blair, to the chagrin of his detractors, did not play the shrinking violet and reiterated that many of the arguments that led him to confront the "profoundly wicked, almost psychopathic" Saddam Hussein seven years ago now applied to the regime in Tehran.
"We face the same problem about Iran today" said Blair.
Blair forcefully stated that the international community must be prepared to take a "very hard, tough line" with Iran, a country "linked up with terrorist groups", to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.
But Sir Richard Dalton, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that it was essential that all the political parties made clear in the run-up to the general election that there would be no repeat of Blair's actions in respect of Iran.
"One result of Tony Blair's intervention on Iran – he mentioned Iran 58 times – is to put the question of confronting Iran into play in the election," "We need to be much clearer, as voters, with our politicians and with our candidates that we expect a different behaviour and a greater integrity in our democracy next time."
He dismissed as a "piece of spin" Blair's claim that the Iranians almost caused the failure of the coalition mission in Iraq through their support for the insurgency.
"To say that Iran was the principal reason seemed to me to be part of a broader argument which he was trying to make, namely that it makes what he did in Iraq look better if he extends it to the future and says the policies then might have to be applied. But Iran is a completely different situation,"
Now it is important to understand precisely what ex British ambassadors get up to when they are no longer swanning around their respective embassies.
Oliver Miles is Chairman of MEC International, which has been set up to lobby on behalf of Arab and other Middle Eastern regimes and of companies which seek to do business with them. It offers the services of a group of ex British ambassadors.
One of MEC International's "consultant ambassadors" is, surprise surprise.... Sir Richard Dalton, now director of the Libyan British Business Council. And, of course, The Deputy Chairman of the Libyan British Business Council is none other than Oliver Miles whose MEC has played a major role in setting up and developing the lucrative business contracts that were finally put on offer once Britain agreed to release Abdelbasset El Megrahi to the Libyan regime.
According to the MEC International website: "The strength of any organisation is in the range of skills and experience that it can draw upon. MEC’s team comprises of some 40 to 50 consultants who are senior individuals with backgrounds in diplomacy, finance, academia, journalism and commerce. This combination of decades of experience is complemented by specific professional skills and extensive regional experience. MEC offers clients an unparalleled network of high-level contacts in both commerce and government. MEC combines professional skills with regional expertise, linguistic ability, cultural sensitivity and a broad network of contacts to add value for our clients."
"The Middle East is the key to the ever fascinating and highly complex world of oil, the politics and price of energy - which connect up to the state of the world economy, climate-change and the global environment. Questions related to these issues are at the forefront of the minds of Chairmen and CEOs of major international corporations, banks and oil companies. MEC International therefore offers a holistic response to these challenges with an Ambassadorial Service run by senior Ambassadors and those with many years of experience in the region. Risk related questions receive a rapid response from a specially selected MEC task force headed in each case by a consultant ambassador. This service offers a complete tailored response supported by MEC publications, its Analytical Group services and consultancy advice available through a hot line and through a team of selected senior consultants."
Now all this begs an even more alarming question... "What role are the current British ambassadors playing in the murky politics of the Middle East and further Islamic world?"
To get more from opinion, click here to sign up for our free Editor's Picks newsletter.