Championing British business abroad

Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that UK foreign policy will prioritise the championing of British business interests.

A civil servant with expertise in business will be appointed to head the Foreign Office, and a commercial director will also be recruited.

Speaking in New York on the last day of his trip to the United States, Cameron said he wanted to "refashion British foreign policy, the Foreign Office, to make us much more focused on the commercial aspects".

Whilst in New York, he has held talks with financial and business leaders about opportunities to boost UK-US trade, including a roundtable event at the Nasdaq stock exchange with bank and investment firm bosses.

Cameron said that there is "a big opportunity" for diplomats to demonstrate that "Britain is open for business" and win contracts for UK firms.

"As we come out of recession and into recovery we have got to pay our way in the world", he said.

"I want to make sure that whenever any British minister, however junior, is meeting any counterpart, however junior or senior and for however short a time, they have always got a very clear list of the commercial priorities we are trying to achieve", he added

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