A cross - party committee of ministers has urged the government to focus its diplomatic resources on the Commonwealth after the UK leaves the European union . The recommendation is made in a report from the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee , published before the Commonwealth heads of staff meeting , which is being held in the uk for the first time since 2001 . The MPs that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office should lead a cross - government effort using the UK 's coverage of the summit to address what it said has been recent neglect of the network .
A cross-party committee of MPs has urged the government to focus its diplomatic resources on the Commonwealth after the UK leaves the European Union. The recommendation is made in a report from the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee, published before the Commonwealth heads of government meeting, which is being held in the UK for the first time since 1997. The MPs said the Foreign and Commonwealth Office should lead a cross-government effort using the UK's chairmanship of the summit to address what it said has been recent neglect of the network.