FORMER ambassador Craig Murray, who caused a diplomatic furore with a speech attacking the human rights record of Uzbekistan, had his career terminated yesterday.
After months of negotiations, the former ambassador to the former Soviet republic has received a severance payment of £315,000. Mr Murray, 45, was suspended after he made allegations that the Uzbek Government tortured political dissidents for intelligence that was then passed to the CIA and MI6. Yesterday he said that he intended to write a book about his last few years in the diplomatic corps. He would present the manuscript of the book, to be called Should not be Known, to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for vetting. “I’ve no doubt they won’t like it,” he said.
Mr Murray, a previous high-flyer in the Foreign Office, was recalled from Uzbekistan last year. He said that the terms of his severance agreement did not bar him from talking about his case or giving the details of the settlement.
Mr Murray is now suing the Foreign Office for the ill health that he says was caused by his removal from Uzbekistan. He is being supported by the civil service union, the First Division Association.