THE TELEGRAPH: Gordon Brown has been snubbed repeatedly by Barack Obama during his trip to the United States, as the fall-out from the release of the Lockerbie bomber appeared to have left "the special relationship" at its lowest ebb for nearly 20 years.
British officials made five attempts to secure official talks with the US President and even agreed to a policy change in an attempt to land a joint appearance between the two leaders, said diplomatic sources.
But the White House rebuffed the offers and Mr Brown, who had hoped to increase his popularity by appearing on his own with Mr Obama, had to settle instead for a snatched conversation with the President in a New York kitchen.
The setbacks led to fears that relations between Downing Street and the White House were at their lowest point since John Major's frosty dealings with Bill Clinton.
It was disclosed earlier this week that Mr Brown would not hold bilateral talks with Mr Obama, despite the President hosting individual meetings with the leaders of Japan, China and Russia. Downing Street claimed that this was not unusual.
However, a British diplomat told The Daily Telegraph that the White House's refusal to meet Mr Brown had been a serious embarrassment for the Prime Minister.
"It is wrong for people to say that we have been relaxed about the way things have gone," the source said. "There were five attempts to set up a meeting and none have come off." >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor in New York | Wednesday, September 23, 2009
