The new British consul for Italy, Joyce McDougall, officially took up her post at the British embassy in Rome on 1 November. She is also the consular regional operations manager for Italy and Malta.

McDougall started in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in June 2011 and then worked in Milan following the closure of the consulates in Venice and Florence. She has been overseeing the consular team in Malta since Nov 2012.

Before joining the FCO McDougall had a 30-year-long career in tour operations, travelling and working in Spain, Italy, Turkey, Malta, Greece and Cyprus, as well as India, Sri Lanka and the USA, where she also covered Mexico and the Caribbean from Florida.