McConnell’s post in Malawi to be filled

The Foreign Office is moving to fill the vacancy created by Jack McConnell postponing his appointment as High Commissioner to Malawi.

Giving evidence to the Commons foreign affairs select committee, the head civil servant at the Foreign Office, Sir Peter Ricketts, said that a process had been put in place to cover the time that the former First Minister of Scotland will now spend as Gordon Brown's special envoy on conflict resolution.

At the cabinet reshuffle the Prime Minister appointed Mr McConnell as a part-time peace envoy, a move that avoided a Scottish Parliament by-election in his Motherwell and Wishaw seat. This meant the MSP would not resign and take up a previous appointment as the UK's High Commissioner to Malawi until a later date, probably after the next Scottish parliamentary election.

The move was described by opposition parties as "electoral manipulation" to avoid a defeat in Motherwell and Wishaw.

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Mr McConnell has appeared before the Commons committee before to answer questions on his appointment as High Commissioner and the MPs returned to the subject yesterday when the Foreign Office permanent secretary appeared before them.

The committee chairman, Sir John Stanley MP, asked why Mr McConnell was still a member of the Scottish Parliament. He was stonewalled by Sir Peter Ricketts who avoided all questions about the unpaid, part-time appointment and any possible conflicts of interest.

He confirmed that the post of High Commissioner to Malawi was now open to internal competition in the FCO and a number of candidates had put their name forward.

On Mr McConnell's new role, the Foreign Office chief said that the former First Minister had already begun discussions with officials. "He is going to spend one or two days a week with us and travel maybe once a month," said Sir Peter. "We see his role as external contact making on behalf of the conflict-resolution policy developed in Whitehall. I would see him going to the UN in New York, the EU in Brussels and to the African Union in Addis Ababa."

Andrew MacKinlay, the Labour MP who has tabled parliamentary questions on Mr McConnell's new role, said: "If he's going to be going to Addis Ababa something else has to be given up somewhere else. How can this be justified?"

Sir Peter replied: "You're drawing me into commenting on behalf of Mr McConnell."