David Cameron has probably not had the chance to think about it yet, but there is a huge upside to the sad news that Ann Widdecombe will no longer be in a position to represent the Court of St James to the Holy See upon the retirement of the outstanding Ambassador Francis Campbell. There is now a unique opportunity to position our Embassy as a key international vanguard for the advancement of a global Big Society just as Cameron has established vanguards for social innovation on the home front.
To those who underestimate the seriousness with which the Prime Minister takes his crusade for a new civic future such an idea may seem odd. For those unaware of the huge reach, range and impact of Catholic diplomatic, NGO and charitable institutions it may seem stranger still. And yet to those with experience of the nexus of relationships that find there way to, through and from Rome such a proposal should not even raise the blinking of an eyelid given the Cabinet’s passion to “turn government upside down”.
