Former Prime Minister’s G8 rep talks on the world’s poor at Southwell Minster

A former Ambassador to Paris and Tony Blair’s representative at the 2005 G8 summit will give this year’s Southwell Lecture next month, on Friday 5th June 2009, focusing on the issue of responsibility for the poor.

Lord Michael Jay of Ewelme, who is an independent crossbench peer in the House of Lords, chose his own subject for the lecture at 7pm in Southwell Minster, which is called: ‘The world's poorest: whose responsibility?’

Lord Jay has some strong Nottinghamshire connections, he said: “My parents moved to East Bridgford, where my mother still lives, in 1957, and I first went to a service in Southwell Minster at Christmas that year.” His sister also attended Nottingham Girls High School and his wife is a graduate of Nottingham University. He said he is looking forward to the visit.

Since leaving the foreign office, Lord Jay has taken on the role of chair of Merlin, the medical relief and healthcare charity for victims of natural disasters and conflict. This new role has taken him to the Eastern Congo and to South Sudan in the past year and builds on his experience early on in his career teaching as a volunteer in Zambia and then working for the Ministry of Overseas Development.

After 12 years in the Ministry of Overseas Development, including time in London, at the World Bank in Washington and in India, he transferred to the Foreign Office, focusing for much of the time on European issues, and ended up as Ambassador in Paris from 1996 to 2001. He then served as Permanent Under Secretary to the Foreign Office in London from 2002 to 2006 (and concurrently as Tony Blair's G8 personal representative in 2005 and 2006). He now sits as an independent crossbench peer in the House of Lords, focusing on development, European and climate change issues, and chairs the House of Lords Appointments Commission - which nominates people to the crossbenches and vets political appointments.

Apart from his work in the Lords he is also a non-executive director on two French and two British boards and active in an inter-parliamentary climate change group called GLOBE.

All are welcome to attend the lecture, which is free of charge. Wine and soft drinks will be served at the end. There will also be a retiring collection.

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