Actor Kiefer Sutherland plays Jack Bauer, the rogue agent of the Counter Terrorist Unit in TV series '24'.

British diplomacy is set for a significant overhaul to make it “more like 24 or Spooks and less like The Good Life”, with a drive to improve technology, data analysis and professional standards.

Philip Hammond, foreign secretary, will publish a hard-hitting review on Monday which accepts that Britain needs to establish itself firmly in the 21st century, putting genuine experts with the best kit and training into the field.

The review was led by Tom Fletcher, a 41-year-old former ambassador to Lebanon who blogs as the “Naked Diplomat”. He was asked to challenge traditional thinking at the Foreign Office.

During the course of the review, Mr Fletcher reportedly told diplomats that staff could not do their jobs with antiquated technology more reminiscent of The Good Life — a 1970s sitcom set in the Surrey gin and tonic belt — than cutting-edge dramas such as Spooks or 24.

One diplomat said Mr Fletcher wanted the FCO to improve its recruitment and seek out the brightest talent: “We must not become the Church of England, where we look around and see that, despite our strong values, the pews are emptying.”

His report contains 36 recommendations to modernise diplomacy, starting with an overhaul of what one Foreign Office official described as “notoriously bad technology”.

The department’s Firecrest system is the bane of many diplomats’ life: it is regarded as very slow and probably compromised by foreign spies. “We spend a lot of time staring at screens waiting for the IT to fire up,” said one.

Many diplomats now use WhatsApp to communicate, including on sensitive issues such as Ukraine and Syria. Mr Fletcher believes the Foreign Office can strike a better balance between security and modern technology, including the introduction of WiFi across Britain’s overseas network.

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