Post-cold war era is over, says Lammy as he vows to revamp Foreign Office

The post-cold war era is "well and truly over," and keeping the British people safe means standing up to Russia, the foreign secretary, David Lammy, has said.

- Patrick Wintour

Writing for the Guardian website, Lammy wrote: "Keeping the British people safe means standing up to the Kremlin. Working with our friends and allies to deter Putin's mafia state."

He also says facing down the new geopolitical threats will require a revamped Foreign Office (FCDO) that accepts that the distinction between international and domestic policy is more blurred than ever before.

In a statement of this intent, Lammy announced the FCDO will introduce the first standalone sanctions regime in the world, directed at freezing the UK assets of people smugglers and organised crime entities.

Other measures designed to hit people smugglers have already been announced, but this is the first time the highly developed UK sanctions regime, which has already been repurposed to seize the assets of kleptocrats, will be expanded to target people smugglers and those that enable them in the UK.