John Pedler: Veteran of a golden era of British diplomacy and commissioner-general of southeast Asia

A keen writer, his postings took him from Paris to Phnom Phen where he picked up experiences for a string of spy novels

In later life Pedler expressed his dismay at the Iraq war and Brexit

John Pedler, who has died aged 90, was a retired diplomat who wrote searing critiques of the Iraq war and the follies that followed in his blog, JP Diplomatic Consultancy (named after his business). He was very much a wise head in a foreign policy milieu where wisdom was not in demand.

In one post, titled “Why they hate us” in 2010, he wrote of the “extraordinary hypocrisy” of the west and how those who led us into the Gulf War “cannot bring themselves to admit to so great an error”.

Somewhat unfashionably, he didn’t view the Obama administration with rose-tinted goggles. He wrote: “It is too weak in congress, too beset with other top priorities, and it is faced with the immense power of the Israel lobby.”

His coolly delivered, cutting views were in no danger of going mainstream. For instance, he was keen to highlight what he regarded as the root causes of Islamist extremism: “Israel's treatment of the conquered Palestinians decades after the Arab nations' defeat is so shocking and inhuman that it is the first cause of anti-American and anti-Israeli bitterness – and thus the main motive for many young Muslims joining to fight a guerrilla or terrorist war.”

Pedler regarded the media at large to be facilitators for the outrages of politicians. He did not become an octogenarian publishing sensation like Harry Leslie Smith, but his writing is packed with intellectual ballast.

Pedler loved flying but readily admitted he was not very good at it (Zelda B)

His taste of publishing came in a string of novels under the pen name Dominic Torr, with names such as Hoodwink (in which explored the world of freemasonry, an interest of his and a subject he believed deserved critique), Diplomatic Cover, The Treason Line and a Mission of Mercy.

Pedler was born in 1928 and grew up in the New Forest.

He was too young to fight in the Second World War, so his mother, Anne Isabel Stafford, an academic and author of Silver Street and The Great Mrs Pennington, sent him to America. Pedler’s education was split between America and England. He took a degree in economics (with additional course in comparative religion) from the London School of Economics in 1948.

After graduating he took his national service as a cadet pilot in the RAF’s volunteer reserve. Pedler loved to fly, but as he readily admitted was not the best pilot.

Following a crash he joined the RAF Intelligence Branch and was posted to Italy to the Trieste security office, during the US and UK occupation.

In 1951, he joined the Foreign Service (now Diplomatic Service) starting as a desk officer in the American department, covering the west coast and South America. Having established himself as a young diplomat he was posted to the British embassy in Vienna. He also served as commissioner-general of southeast Asia, and in the British embassies in Saigon, Laos and Phnom Penh. Eventually he became first secretary, British embassy in Paris.

In 1968 shortly after the death of his mother, Pedler took a leave of absence from the Foreign Office. Using his understanding of the political situation in southeast Asia, he became a war correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph in Vietnam during the Tet offensive.

Pedler’s Vietnam press card carried his pen name, Dominic Torr (Zelda B)

He also visited China under the pretext of business to report on the Cultural Revolution for The Sunday Telegraph. He enjoyed the diversity and freedom of freelancing and decided to take early retirement.

He wrote a series of spy thrillers under the pseudonym Dominic Torr, and started a Chinese embroidery art and furniture business in London.

Pedler remained passionate about diplomacy and politics and freelanced as a diplomatic consultant.

In the late 1980s peace negotiator, Stan Windass and historian Peter Carey approached him about a charity they were in the process of forming to help landmine survivors in Cambodia.

Through his time in the diplomatic services, Pedler still had good relations with Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen and Prince Sihanouk, and he was able to help facilitate the relevant access and cooperation needed to operate in the region.

In 1989 the trio set up the Cambodia Trust, introduced a satellite telephone link, and opened a modern artificial limb and rehabilitation centre. The trust continues today and has helped transform the lives of thousands of disabled people in Cambodia; it has evolved from an emergency relief organisation to a major development non-governmental organisation, now called Exceed Worldwide.

Pedler lived in Italy, Croatia and for the past 15 years Sarlat in France. He was devastated by the Brexit result in 2016 and dedicated much of his time campaigning the case for the UK remaining in the EU.

He continued to write, corresponding with a wide array of Remain activists, produced a number of newspaper articles and self-published his final book, The Four Brexiteers and the Fracturing of the West. He was petitioning the government and the House of Lords right up to the eve of his death.

A few days before he died his local French newspaper, L’Essor Sarladais, carried an interview with Pedler in which he emphasised how he hoped the centenary of the First World War would act as a reminded of the success of the EU as an agent of peace.

He spoke of how the world must work hard for a kinder politics for future generations. He was especially looking forward to seeing Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel make a symbolic united stand in remembrance.

Immensely inquisitive, Pedler – who is survived by his children, grandchildren and wife, Fere – had a thirst for knowledge. He spoke French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian and some Chinese, Serbo-Croat and Khmer.

He loved the arts, with a special fondness for international poetry and world cinema. He had a fearless passion for life, was driven by a strong sense of duty to serve his country and help fight injustice and promote peace, hope and tolerance.

Pedler died on Armistice Day in Perigueux, a very fitting date for this intellectual, peace-loving, traditional English gentleman.

John Branfoot Simpson Pedler, diplomat, born 19 August 1928, died 11 November 2018