East of England

Peterborough: Foreign Office official leads discussion

Peterborough’s local authority have organised their first Free-D event and were delighted with the results.  

Over 100 people attended the open discussion led by Foreign and Commonwealth Office representative Ross Allen who spoke on foreign policy.

A total of 65 people, including 25 pupils, participated in the discussion. Audience members included college students, council representatives and other community members at the Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough on Monday 9 November.

Mr Allen, who currently covers US Middle East policy in Washington and whose career includes four years serving in the Middle East, answered questions about how British foreign policy in the region has been formulated, how it is perceived and how it can be influenced.

Jawaid Khan, community cohesion manager with Greater Peterborough Partnership, said: “This was a very constructive discussion. Local community leaders and senior pupils were able to express their views on a high profile political issue and obtain clear answers from a very experienced Foreign Office official.”

The event was jointly organised by Peterborough Racial Equality Council, Peterborough City Council, Greater Peterborough Partnership and Thomas Deacon Academy.