British envoy to attend Uhuru Kenyatta's inauguration

Britain’s most senior diplomat in Kenya will attend the inauguration of Uhuru Kenyatta, the incoming president, next week even though the new leader faces charges of alleged crimes against humanity.

Mr Kenyatta won the election despite being accused by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court of helping to direct the violence that followed Kenya’s last polls in 2007. He denies the charge.

British policy restricts any contact between Government officials and ICC indictees to “essential business” only, whether they are rebel warlords on the run or the freely-elected leader of one of Britain’s most important allies in Africa.

Christian Turner, the High Commissioner in Nairobi, has struggled to reconcile this position with preserving relations with Kenya, which serves as a vital partner in counter-terrorism and provides a training area for the British Army.

The rules will probably be interpreted to allow him to attend Mr Kenyatta’s inauguration on Tuesday, sources told The Daily Telegraph.

“There’ve been a lot of meetings and phone calls and now it has been decided that ‘essential contact only’ includes attending the inauguration,” said a European diplomat familiar with some of the discussions.

Another Western official said: “I understand it’s felt that there would be more of a stink if Christian doesn’t go than if he does, and Britain really wants to avoid being singled out as a troublemaker from the get-go.”

The High Commission in Nairobi is understood to have lobbied the Foreign Office for permission to attend, arguing that it was crucial for Britain to join the US and European nations at the event.

Robert Godec, the American ambassador, will be attending, the US said on Thursday.

European Union ambassadors are expected to be present despite a united policy to shun ICC indictees .

But Mr Turner faces being accused of double standards in an increasingly hostile Kenyan media. Any photographs of him shaking Mr Kenyatta’s hand could cause future embarrassment if the president is later convicted at The Hague.

Mr Turner caused a furore in a pre-election television interview when he made plain Britain’s policy was to avoid regular contact with individuals charged by the ICC.

This was interpreted as a threat that Mr Kenyatta would face the same international travel bans and asset freezes imposed on President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, the only other head of state indicted at the ICC.

But British officials in Nairobi have stressed there is no question of sanctions or diplomatic isolation because Mr Kenyatta has promised to cooperate with the court - unlike Mr Bashir.

During the election, Mr Kenyatta’s team directly accused Mr Turner and Britain of favouring Raila Odinga, the other leading presidential candidate. This was part of a wider effort to paint Mr Odinga as a stooge of the West and its preferred candidate.

This rhetoric could have won Mr Kenyatta votes, but soured traditionally warm relations between Nairobi and London.

British trade with Kenya is worth more than £1 billion annually, more than half of the companies listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange are linked to Britain and almost 200,000 Britons holiday in Kenya each year.