No foreign jobs on offer for Miliband

William Hague says he will not nominate David Miliband for the post of European Union foreign minister, nor any other international job in the foreseeable future, scotching suggestions the defeated Labour leadership contender could be heading for Brussels.

David Miliband may be regarded by Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, as “vibrant” and authoritative, but Mr Hague is far less smitten with the man who preceded him at the Foreign Office.

“I’ve no personal quarrel with him,” Mr Hague tells the Financial Times. It is just that Mr Hague thinks that under Mr Miliband the Foreign Office was left financially stricken and marginalised in Whitehall, failed to build relations with emerging economies, and left Britain vulnerable to accusations it was complicit in torture.

Mr Hague says there are no big international jobs in the offing and he is certainly not about to offer Mr Miliband a chance to take up the post of EU foreign policy chief – a job he turned down in 2009, leaving Cathy Ashton, the Labour peer, to find herself unexpectedly with the task.

“Cathy Ashton is doing a really fantastic job and won’t be going anywhere,” Mr Hague said, in an interview ahead of the Tory conference in Birmingham. And in a warning shot to French and German politicians who have criticised her, he added: “She has the government’s full support.”

Mr Hague gives the impression that his task is to rebuild and revitalise a Foreign Office after the Miliband era, an institution that – by his account – underplayed key relations with countries such as India and China and was sidelined by Number 10.

He blames Mr Miliband for bowing to a Treasury demand to end the Foreign Office’s exchange rate protection, “just before the pound fell 25 per cent”. For that reason, he says his department has already sustained big cuts and cannot go much further.

“I’m not envisaging a big reduction in our diplomatic network overseas,” he says, arguing it plays a big part in boosting British trade and inward investment. “It is part of the essential infrastructure of our economic recovery.”

Nor will he countenance a “significant reduction” in the number of foreign- language services offered by the BBC World Service; the Burmese service would certainly continue.

“You can save quite a lot of money with careful housekeeping,” he says. “We can’t stop doing much.” He cites a 25 per cent saving on the costs of the delegation travelling to the UN last month, including cheaper flights.

Mr Hague insists he has lost none of his appetite for politics in spite of the speculation over his relationship with Chris Myers, whom he employed as a special adviser, and the subsequent statement he issued giving personal details of his marriage.

Did he not consider giving it all up? “I have not thought that in recent times. I did think that when I resigned as leader of the opposition.” He adds: “I’m a very focused person and although there was a bit of a fuss a month ago, I never missed a single meeting.”

Mr Hague says he was sustained by a very “supportive government”, led by David Cameron – turning out to be a “complete natural” as prime minister – whom he sees daily. The coalition was “refreshing” and had been a factor in the “reinvention” of cabinet government. “It’s a bit of a shock,” he says. “We get on very well together.” This is just as well, he admits, as tough times lie ahead.

While Mr Hague may not be writing job references for David Miliband, he extends his condolences to Ed Miliband. “It’s one of the worst jobs in the world, being leader of the opposition.” But he says the younger Miliband is in danger of taking Labour backwards, retreating to its heartland.

Did Mr Hague not do exactly the same when he became Tory leader in 1997? He admits that perhaps he might have confronted his party with more painful truths but says his situation was totally different to that of the new Labour leader: “Ed Miliband has 90 more MPs than I had.”

He adds: “On a personal level, I wish him well but, on a political level, obviously I don’t.”