The prattish behaviour in India of the British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, reminds me of one of his predecessors, the late Robin Cook. He was accompanying HM Queen on her visit to the country and also gave an unsolicited lecture on how he could solve the Kashmir problem. Aside from how we would have acted if an Indian Foreign Minister had arrived and lectured us on Northern Ireland, there is the added problem that in their view we are, at least in part, the cause of the problem.
What must they think of us? Apparently Mandelson has been sent out to repair the damage but the Indian PM is refusing to see him.
Cooky compounded his error by leaving the Queen in the lurch while he flew back to London to see his mistress, while Milly made things worse by calling the venerable Indian Foreign Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, by his first name. Manners are better in India.
Where, where do we get these people?
But granted that we have a schoolboy as Foreign Secretary, where was our Rolls Royce of a civil service to guide him through his trip? I have said it before and I am sure it won't be the last time, the British Foreign Office should be closed down in the public interest, the work contracted out to Switzerland and the enormous cost savings given to the poor.
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