With consular emergencies underway in multiple countries, the eurozone falling apart, climate change gathering pace and a military intervention underway in Libya, it’s good to see that the Foreign Office is focusing its attention on the key issues. Over to FCO Minister Henry Bellingham:
I am announcing today the outcome of a review of the Government Wine Cellar. Government Hospitality provides corporate hospitality services for the whole Government, and has done so for over 80 years. It is administered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. As part of its functions, it includes a Wine Cellar.
Bravo! And how eminently sensible of HMG to entrust stewardship of this vital resource to the Foreign Office. But what’s this?
On 18th June 2010 my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs instituted a thorough review of the cellar’s functions to ensure that the purchase, retention and use of wines and spirits for official government events hosted by senior members of Government was appropriate to the contemporary environment and would provide value for money for the tax payer.
Uh-oh. That doesn’t sound good. Bellingham continues,
We will conduct targeted sales of high value stock in order to pay for future purchases.
What?!? Privatisation! Selling off the family jewels! Someone call UK Uncut! Who’s to blame for this outrage?
Answer: Tom Watson MP, who’s been hassling the government for a list of contents of the cellar for over a year. Tom says, “They should sell the good stuff to make ends meet. As the economy heads back into recession nobody will seriously believe that we are all in this together when ministers are quaffing wines at £200 a bottle.”
Pretty crafty of Tom to get his own ministerial quaffing out of the way before blowing the whistle, eh readers? But me, I’m worried about what this means for UK foriegn policy. Who’s going to want to attend our summits and state banquets once all the “good stuff” is gone?
