Czech foreign ministry to open Consulate General in Peterborough

The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs is due to open a new Czech Consulate General in the UK city of Peterborough in connection with Britain's departure from the EU, Foreign Minister Tomáš Petříček told Czech Television on Wednesday.

The consulate will be headed by former Czech Roma police officer Petr Torák who received the Order of the British Empire a few years ago for his service for the Roma community. The Ministry is now waiting for the approval of the British authorities.

Mr Torák is currently in charge of a charity organisation COMPAS in Peterborough, which is helping local Czech and Slovak communities. Nearly 49,000 Czech citizens have so far applied for resident status in the UK. Of the 46,410 applications that had been dealt with at the end of November, some 31,240 Czechs had received settled status, while 13,560 had been granted pre-settled status.