Sir Nigel Sheinwald’s Obama angst

One person who must be twitchy about Barack Obama moving into the White House on Tuesday is Britain's ambassador in Washington, Sir Nigel Sheinwald. During last year's presidential election campaign, when Senator Hillary Clinton was odds-on favourite to win the Democratic nomination and, indeed, the presidency, Sir Nigel made a number of critical comments about the Illinois senator, saying in a memo that he was "aloof", "insensitive" and "decidedly liberal".

While Obama made no comment at the time about Sheinwald's remarks - which in fairness were leaked to the press without his knowledge and were written on a "For Your Eyes Only" basis to the Foreign Office - the ambassador may have reason to feel a little trepidation now.

And he cannot have been pleased to read an article in last week's Guardian by the historian Tristram Hunt, who wrote: "Clearly, Britain needs a charm offensive. And it is apparent that its man in Washington, Sir Nigel Sheinwald, is not ideal for the task. Leaving aside his pre-election memo, Sheinwald's impeccable FCO credentials and well-cut suits might send Obama into a post-colonial funk."

While it is true that parts of the memo was unflattering, Sir Nigel's letter was also complimentary. He said that Obama's speeches were "elegant" and "mesmerising", and that he was "highly intelligent" and possessed "star quality", and on that he could be said to have been bang on the money. ·