Charles David Stephen Drace-Francis, (born 1943) is a retired British diplomat. He was educated at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

where he took a first-class degree in history in 1964. He shared rooms with Gareth Stedman-Jones and

Roderick Floud Sir Roderick Castle Floud FBA (born 1 April 1942) is a British economic historian and a leader in the field of anthropometric history. He has been provost of the London Guildhall University, vice-chancellor and president of the London Metropoli ...

. After posts in Teheran, Hong Kong and Brussels, Drace-Francis was appointed British Chargé d'Affaires to Afghanistan from 1984 to 1987, during the Soviet-Afghan War. He was appointed

Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honou ...

for his work in the latter capacity. He was High Commissioner to

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

from 1997 to 2000. Telegrams of his reports on Conservative Party treasurer

Michael Ashcroft Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and is ...

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

and

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...

, written in early 1997, were published in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' in July 1999. Drace-Francis claimed that Ashcroft had "threatened over breakfast to stir up trouble for Britain in the Turks and Caicos Islands unless he was helped to break into the islands' banking business." As a result of this the Foreign Office's Permanent Under Secretary John Kerr initiated an inquiry with the aim of identifying the source of the leak. The inquiry proved controversial, and Drace-Francis later resigned. As such he won the sympathy of his erstwhile antagonist

Lord Ashcroft Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and is ...

, who recognised him to be the victim of Whitehall machinations rather than the true source of the leak.

References

1943 births Living people Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Afghanistan High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Papua New Guinea Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George {{UK-diplomat-stub