‘I was on my honeymoon!’: Hamish Falconer’s surprise call-up to Burnham’s cabinet
Falconer was in Greece when he found out about his appointment as minister of state for intergovernmental and European relations. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianView image in fullscreenFalconer was in Greece when he found out about his appointment as minister of state for intergovernmental and European relations. Falconer had trusted Midgley – a close confidant of Burnham – to keep him in the loop about cabinet moves.But the tight secrecy of Burnham’s first appointment meant that he was caught off guard by his promotion, while on his honeymoon in Greece.
- ▪Falconer was in Greece when he found out about his appointment as minister of state for intergovernmental and European relations.
- ▪Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianView image in fullscreenFalconer was in Greece when he found out about his appointment as minister of state for intergovernmental and European relations.
- ▪Falconer had trusted Midgley – a close confidant of Burnham – to keep him in the loop about cabinet moves.But the tight secrecy of Burnham’s first appointment meant that he was caught off guard by his promotion, while on his honeymoon in Gr
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| Original publisher | The Guardian — UK |
| Canonical URL | https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/09/hamish-falconer-uk-minister-european-relations-eu |
| Publication time | Sun, 09 Aug 2026 18:00:22 GMT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-08-09T18:10:47.818Z |
| Last seen | 2026-08-09T18:10:47.818Z |
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Falconer was in Greece when he found out about his appointment as minister of state for intergovernmental and European relations. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianView image in fullscreenFalconer was in Greece when he found out about his appointment as minister of state for intergovernmental and European relations. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianEuropean UnionProfile‘I was on my honeymoon!’: Hamish Falconer’s surprise call-up to Burnham’s cabinetNew EU negotiator, who previously helped free Taliban hostages, thought it was safe to book holiday during recessJessica Elgot Deputy political editorSun 9 Aug 2026 14.00 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleWhen Hamish Falconer left his career as a Foreign Office diplomat for the hostile environment of a Labour party…
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