UK to downgrade commitment to human rights for close diplomatic ties

Foreign secretary to announce pragmatic' partnerships with countries likely to be more influential over next 30 years

The UK will target a group of about two dozen middle-level countries for long-term diplomatic partnerships in what marks a downgrade of a commitment to human rights as a prerequisite for close relations with the UK.

The new policy being outlined in a speech by the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, is an attempt to set realistic ambitions and criteria for Britain's future relations post-Brexit. It is an implicit admission that the phrase global Britain", coined by Boris Johnson, may have set expectations that British diplomatic resources and status cannot match.