London: Britain will close down nine of its embassies and as many high commissions in an effort to save money, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in London yesterday (Dec 15, 2004).

The Bahamas, East Timor, Madagascar and Swaziland are among the areas affected by the biggest shake-up for the diplomatic service. Other missions to be shut down are in Vanuatu, Tonga, Kiribati, Paraguay and Lesotho.

In a statement in the House of Commons, Straw said the move would save 6 million pounds a year to free up cash for priorities such as fighting terrorism.

Honorary consuls will be appointed in some of the areas affected by the embassy closures.

Nine consulates or consulate general offices will also be closed, mostly in Europe and America. They include Dallas in the US, Bordeaux in France and Oporto in Portugal, with local staff replacing UK representation in another eleven.

The changes are due to be put in place before the end of 2006, with most savings made from cutting staff and running costs. Some of the money will have to be used to fund redundancy payments.

"The savings made will help to underpin higher priority work in line with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's strategic priorities, including counter-proliferation, counter-terrorism, energy and climate change," he said.