An Allerdale man once accused by Robert Mugabe of being a spy, is watching developments in Zimbabwe with more interest than most.

Sir Brian Donnelly KGE, CMG was High Commissioner and then ambassador to Zimbabwe during the tumultuous time when it was expelled from the Commonwealth.

Sir Brian, from Workington, attended Workington Grammar School and Oxford before entering the diplomatic corps. At 72, he is now retired and living in Birkby, near Maryport.

He served as High Commissioner and ambassador from 2002 to 2005.

During this turbulent time, he was threatened with expulsion by Robert Mugabe and, according to a national newspaper of the time, was accused of being an MI6 spy and of colluding with the opposition political party.

“I used to get up in the morning and wonder what the papers were saying next – ‘I was a spy, I was under 24-hour surveillance’. There was always something.”

Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is set to replace Mugabe, also once tried to sue him because he called the politician a hypocrite.

“There were lawyers involved,” Sir Brian said, “but it came to nothing.”

He said he was concerned for the future of the country.

“I do not have any contacts in the country any more, so I am just learning everything from the media the same as everyone else.

“Part of me would love to be there now and part of me is glad I am not. My overwhelming feeling is one of relief that Mugabe has gone.

“I met him a couple of times, but he really didn’t socialise with the ambassadors much. He was a very remote person. He cut himself off and was almost out of touch with reality.

“I am worried about Mnangagwa. He has a very bad record for participation in anti-democratic activity. The army is also still dominant.

“I think there is still a long way to go to democratic government. It is a shame. Zimbabwe is a truly beautiful country with beautiful people.”

Sir Brian spent 35 years in the diplomatic service. He was in Belgrade at the height of the Kosovo war and served in New York, Singapore, Athens and Brussels.