England auctions its embassies to reduce costs

According to Isna, the “Paltico” newspaper, quoting London government budget documents, reported that the British Foreign Ministry plans to sell part of its diplomatic buildings and embassies in other countries as part of its plan to drastically reduce costs.

According to this American newspaper, the ministry has been examining its collection of nearly 6,500 properties outside the UK worth 2.5 billion pounds ($3.3 billion) to identify “disposable assets” due to the presence of hundreds of buildings that have suffered serious damage or are considered too expensive to maintain.

The publication wrote that the British Foreign Office also plans to lay off nearly a third of its domestic staff.

According to the budget documents, several cities such as New York are described as “expensive locations,” which could indicate the department’s intention to sell a $15 million penthouse purchased in 2019 for diplomats at 50 United Nations Plaza.

This seven-bedroom residence occupies the entire 38th floor of this complex and includes a library, 6 bathrooms and a women’s toilet.

Not long ago, the British National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee of this country’s Parliament stated in a report that about 933 diplomatic properties in the country, which is nearly 15% of the total number of these properties, are considered unsafe or unqualified properties. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of England has estimated that the cost of essential matters related to the maintenance of these properties, which have not been taken care of so far, reaches 450 million pounds.

The committee also noted that after selling large embassy complexes in Bangkok and Tokyo in recent years, the State Department “has no more large assets to sell.”

According to reports, the British ministry is reviewing the scale and location of its global network of more than 250 diplomatic posts in more than 150 countries.

The Foreign Office is also looking to cut staff to cut costs and has reportedly started sending redundancy offers to its staff at home, expecting to cut staff numbers by up to 30% in the process.

These actions take place while Britain, despite its financial pressures, is still trying to expand military aid to Ukraine. London remains one of Kiev’s biggest arms supporters and has imposed repeated rounds of sanctions against Russia in support of Ukraine. Moscow has accused London of trying to prolong the war.

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