Britain’s top diplomat James Cleverly skips part of Pacific tour to focus on Sudan

British foreign secretary James Cleverly has cancelled planned meetings in Samoa and New Zealand at short notice following the eruption of fighting in Sudan. Photograph: Thomas Krych/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock

The British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has skipped planned meetings in New Zealand and Samoa to focus on coordinating the UK’s response to the crisis in Sudan.

Cleverly had been scheduled to join the New Zealand foreign minister, Nanaia Mahuta, in Samoa on Wednesday for a series of trilateral meetings with the Samoan government, and then travel on with Mahuta to New Zealand.