Starmer must do a better job of promoting Powell's ideas

When Keir Starmer cancelled Rishi Sunak's choice of national security adviser and appointed Jonathan Powell instead, it seemed to be a triumph for “serious” government.

- JOHN RENTOUL

Tony Blair’s premiership was a long time ago, but it looks increasingly like a model of good administration, and Powell was at the heart of it. He invented the modern role of the political chief of staff to the prime minister, and made it work so well that every PM since has copied it.

Powell is supremely well qualified, in particular, to advise on foreign policy. His role in the Northern Ireland negotiations and his post-government work on conflict resolution means that he has a deeper understanding of how the world works than almost anybody else.

He also has a confidence that makes him valuable to any prime minister. When he spoke to students at King’s College London at the launch of his book Talking to Terrorists: How to End Armed Conflicts in 2014, he said: “There is no conflict in the world that cannot be solved.”