Sir Christopher Meyer

Sir Christopher Meyer was posted to Washington as British Ambassador towards the end of the Clinton Presidency. After an extended five year term, he returned to the UK and went on to chair the Press Complaints Commission.

Whilst in the States Christopher became deeply involved in several critical situations, from trade disputes to the aftermath of 9/11 and the ‘war against terrorism’. He gave over 200 speeches, visited 44 states and 120 cities, and formally introduced Prime Minister Blair to President George W Bush. Christopher’s subsequent account of life behind the scenes, DC Confidential, caused a huge amount of controversy.

Prior to his role in the US, Christopher served as Ambassador to Germany; press secretary to John Major; speechwriter to three Foreign Secretaries; and head of the political section of the Embassy in Moscow. He also served in Madrid and Brussels. In his book and the accompanying BBC series Getting Our Way: 500 Years of Adventure and Intrigue - the Inside Story of British Diplomacy he recounted the extraordinary events in diplomatic history that shaped the UK and the world.

On television, as well as regular appearances on the likes of Question Time and This Week, Christopher has fronted the BBC documentary Mortgaged to the Yanks, looking at America’s post-war loan to the UK which took 70 years to pay off. He’s also written and presented Sky’s Networks of Power, looking at the modern centres of political and economic influence from Moscow to Mumbai via New York.