UK: Former ambassador to US blasts cabinet

In a scathing attack on Britain's cabinet ministers, United Kingdom's former Ambassador to the United States Sir Christopher Meyer has dubbed as "political pygmies" leaders who visited Washington in the run-up to the Iraq war. Firing salvo at some of Britain's most prominent leaders, including Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, former Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon and Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, Meyer has called them political pygmies who failed to win the respect of their United States counterparts.

"Straw was intimidated and tongue-tied in the presence of administration officials," Meyer wrote in his memoirs 'DC Confidential' to be serialised in the Guardian daily, where he expressed "despair" about leaders entrusted with responsibility for preparations for the Iraq war. However some ministers, including chancellor Gordon Brown and current Defence Secretary John Reid won respect in Washington, Meyer said, adding such leaders "stood out like Masai warriors in a crowd of pygmies".

Singling out Prime Minister's Tony Blair's special envoy to the Middle East Lord Levy Meyer described him "as having pretensions to be a latter-day Kissinger", the daily said. Meyer alleged Labour's long spell in Opposition has left Blair with a "coterie of personal advisers" which "may explain the hesitancy and nervousness of some ministers on business in Washington". He claimed Labour's first Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, was "a man more to be admired than liked" but his successor Straw was "someone more to be liked than admired".