MOST of my Easter recess is taken up with overseas ministerial visits. This week it’s Libya, where I’ve already been as the first UK minister in Tripoli since last year’s elections.

One of the lessons I hope we’ve learned from the Iraq war (which I voted against) is that you shouldn’t engage in armed conflict unless you have a plan for mopping up afterwards.

In Libya we’re fully engaged in trying to assist the legitimate government with reconstruction after the devastation caused by Gaddafi.

I am pleased that British companies are in Libya helping with the repair of the country’s infrastructure, since we have a great deal to offer.

It is good to note that UK companies tendering for work abroad seem much happier with the altogether more positive attitude of ministers in this government compared with the last.

If government ministers don’t believe in UK Plc and aren’t prepared to help showcase what British businesses and their countrymen have to offer, there are plenty of pushy competitors out there, most with a slick sales pitch but rather less of a mind to long-term partnership.

I feel really positive about Libya’s future, a country that, post Gaddafi, shows every sign of being a good friend and ally of Britain.

Former Labour Foreign Secretary David Miliband is off to the States for a job that pays a multiple of his salary as an MP.

While we can probably dismiss the spiel about quitting the Commons to avoid being a distraction in his younger brother’s bid for Number 10, I guess he’s doing what able and ambitious executives do – following the money and an easier family life. Thankfully many exceptionally able people are prepared to stick with national politics, in government and opposition.