Roland Howard's Reviews > Murder in Samarkand: A British Ambassador's Controversial Defiance of Tyranny in the War on Terror

Jaw dropping insight into the moral turpitude of Blair, Bush, Jack Straw, New Labour and their friendly tyrants in high places (Uzbekistan). No other government had been shameless enough to proclaim an "ethical foreign policy"- perhaps they should be applauded for bringing black humour into the traditionally mirthless arena of government communications.

The story focuses on the attempts by Jack Straw and the Foreign Office to support the murderous, corrupt, centralizing dictator, Karimov, and silence the British ambassador, Craig Murray, who was campaigning for Human Rights, British business and democracy. When Murray discovered that Karimov's political opponents had been boiled alive, he tirelessly investigated while the luke warm Foreign Office suggested he praise Karimov for his moves towards democracy instead. The conflict increased because MI6, Straw and the Foreign Office wanted intelligence obtained under torture whilst Murray was pointing out that Karimov was making it up and creating an Islamist Bogeyman threat to get Western support. He also pretended to believe New Labour's public pronouncements against torture as a means of exposing Karimov's routine use of torture.

The Foreign Office, Blair and Straw couldn't countenance a man with an interest in human rights in a position of power. They tried to smear him from office with lies about alcoholism, mismanagement and using prostitutes and Murray was exonerated as British businesses and embassy staff lobbied hard, describing Murray as the most effective ambassador they had ever had. Ultimately, the Foreign Office encouraged him to talk to the press, then sacked him for having done so.

Murray's account reads like a Graham Greene novel with a flawed hero. He is open about his relationship with Nadira a postgraduate, nightclub dancer and his poor treatment of his (ex)wife. Murray is now a penniless campaigner and after dinner speaker living in London with a very pretty post-graduate.