Craig Murray

Craig Murray (born 17 October 1958) was a British diplomat. He was formerly the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Uzbekistan, until removed from his post on October 14, 2004. While in this office he publicly criticised his host country against the wishes of the British government, an action that he alleges was the reason for his removal. He also privately criticised the UK govenment for committing torture by proxy, that is, sending terrorist suspects to Uzbekistan for their security services to extract intelligence of dubious value; in the phrase he is best known for, he accused his government of "selling our souls for dross". He is separated from his wife Fiona, with whom he has a son (born 1988) and a daughter (born 1994).

Murray was educated at a British state school, followed by the University of Dundee. He joined the civil service in 1984. Until 2002, he worked for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Africa, apart from 1992 to 1997, when he worked for it in Europe. In 2002, he became UK Ambassador to Uzbekistan. He had been scheduled to continue in that post until November 2005.

In October 2002, upon becoming concerned that torture and extra-judicial killings were taking place in Uzbekistan, he made a controversial speech at a human rights conference in Tashkent, in which he claimed that "Uzbekistan is not a functioning democracy" and saying of the boiling to death of two men, "all of us know that this is not an isolated incident." The speech was cleared by the Foreign Office, but not before a dispute over its content. Later, Kofi Annan confronted Uzbekistan president Islam Karimov with Murray's claims.

He was summoned to London and, on 8 March 2003, he was scolded for writing, in a letter to his employers, in response to a speech by George W. Bush, "when it comes to the Karimov regime, systematic torture and rape appear to be treated as peccadilloes, not to affect the relationship and to be downplayed in the international fora ... I hope that once the present crisis is over we will make plain to the US, at senior level, our serious concern over their policy in Uzbekistan."

In July 2003, some of his embassy staff were sacked while he was away on holiday. They were reinstated after he expressed his outrage to his bosses in the FCO. Later during his holiday, he was recalled to London for disciplinary reasons. On 21 August 2003, he was confronted with 18 charges including "hiring dolly birds for above the usual rate" for the visa department (though he claims that it had an all-male staff) and granting UK visas in exchange for sex. He was told that discussing the charges would be a violation of the Official Secrets Act punishable by imprisonment. He claims that he was encouraged to resign.

He collapsed during a medical check in Tashkent on 2 September 2003 and was flown to St Thomas' Hospital. After an investigation by Tony Crombie, Head of the FCO's Overseas Territories Department, all but two of the charges (being drunk at work and misusing the embassy's Range Rover) were dropped. He returned to work until, in November 2003, he suffered a near fatal pulmonary embolism. In January 2004, the Foreign Office exonerated him of the 18 charges, but reprimanded him for speaking about the charges.

In February 2004, the Mail on Sunday reported his affair with Nadira Alieva. Soon after, his wife left him. In July 2004, he told The Guardian that "there is no point in having cocktail-party relationships with a fascist regime," and that "you don't have to be a pompous old fart to be an ambassador." [1]

Murray was removed from his post shortly after a leaked report in the Financial Times quoted him as claiming that MI6 used intelligence gained by the Uzbek authorities by torture. The Foreign Office denied there was any direct connection and stated that Mr Murray had been removed for "operational" reasons. It claimed that he had lost the confidence of senior officials and colleagues. Murray countered that he was a "victim of conscience".

He stood for parliament in Blackburn, as an independent candidate, against his former boss Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in the May 2005 general election. He came fifth with 5% of votes.

External links

• The Registan's controversial coverage of the Murray debacle See also: A young Uzbek woman's reflection on the Murray controversy at Thinking-East.Net
• Speech at Chatham House (PDF) – Monday 8 November 2004
• British Embassy, Tashkent Press And Public Affairs – links to some speeches and interviews
• The envoy who said too much from The Guardian
• The Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  • 29 March 2005 – Uzbekistan – Torture Trail
• The BBC
  • 2 October 2003 – British envoy leaves Uzbekistan
  • 8 November 2003 – 'Smeared' UK envoy's return urged
  • 12 November 2003 – Envoy to resume Uzbekistan post
  • 15 November 2003 – UK envoy back at work in Tashkent
  • 20 November 2003 – Uzbekistan ambassador back in UK
  • 11 October 2004 – 'Torture intelligence' criticised
  • 6 May 2005 – Murray's election result
• Muslim Uzbekistan
  • 6 October 2003 – Has The Hand Of Uzbek Dictator Reached London?
  • 19 October 2003 – Repression In Uzbekistan Is 'Terrible' Says Short Backing Envoy Who Criticised U.S.
  • 25 October 2003 – Uzbekistan: British Diplomat Quits At Strife-Ridden Embassy
  • 7 November 2003 – UK-Uzbekistan: FO Backs Down Over Envoy's Sacking
  • 24 January 2004 – UK's Embattled Envoy To Tashkent Cleared Of Charges
  • 1 March 2004 – The Undiplomatic Ambassador
  • 5 May 2004 – British Envoy Blasts Uzbek Government
• The Uses of Torture – Speech transcript
• Uzbekistan's human rights record, from Amnesty International
• Free expression conditions in Uzbekistan: IFEX
• Craig Murray's Campaign in Blackburn
  • Craig Murray's campaign website
  • London Friends of Craig Murray
  • Craig Murray's campaign song "Hit The Road Jack Straw"
  • Postman Patel and his dog Jack