Career
Hughes joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) in 1976 and served in Islamabad, Rome, Warsaw, Sydney, Castries, Colombo and Kabul before being appointed Ambassador to North of Korea. Since 2011 he has served at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Hughes was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the 2012 Birthday Honours. Hughes sparked controversy in 2009 with a blog entry that described the "festive atmosphere" in Pyongyang.