On Friday 1 June the Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell, Conservative MP for Sutton Coldfield and former Secretary of State for International Development, visited the International Development Department to meet staff and students.

Mr Mitchell attended a lunch hosted by Professor Tim Softley, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer, where he met with academics working in the global development space to discuss how their research informs current international development issues.

Mr Mitchell also delivered an address to a packed room of students where he shared his reflections on the Syrian Crisis and the path ahead for UK development policy. Following his remarks, Mr Mitchell took questions from the audience, discussing his views on various development challenges facing the UK, from managing mass migration to Brexit to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Following the visit, Professor Fiona Nunan commented:

“IDD was delighted to host a visit by Andrew Mitchell as we appreciate his long and ongoing commitment to international development. We shared details of research going on at the University and look forward to further collaboration with Andrew in the future.”