Kamal Ghorui
Britain’s ambassador to Nato, Angus Lapsley, has triggered a major diplomatic row after he brought his Italian girlfriend into his official residence in Brussels. The woman is nearly half her age and has been identified as Francesca Cortini, an intern, in reports. They met each other at Nato headquarters in Belgium. The couple has now set tongues wagging as insiders observed that they are not even trying to hide their relationship. The girlfriend was present at the residence for Christmas and summer receptions. The official residence, however, is not only meant for him.The lavist British residence in Belgium, a converted five-storey hotel, is also the address of two other Brotish ambassadors — to Belgium and to the EU.The UK’s incoming ambassador to the EU, Dame Caroline Wilson, who is yet to take charge and to shift to the address, said it was “inappropriate” for the pair to live together at the official residence. The relationship has been deemed so significant that Admiral Sir Keith Blount, Nato’s deputy supreme allied commander [in] Europe and the most senior British officer in the alliance, has reportedly been alerted.But the relationship won’t cost Lapsley his pose as Nato policy does not prohibit a relationship between a senior official and a subordinate. Nato requires managers to declare any real or perceived conflict of interest and Lapsley made his bosses aware of the relationship that began after his separation from wife Gina.Lapsley, the father of two, is known for delinquency as he had his security clearance suspended in 2021 after he left top secret documents at a bus stop in Kent. The files had the locations of British special forces in Kabul.Lapsley also left behind at least one personal diary, which resulted in Ben Wallace, the defence secretary at the time, later calling for his security clearance to be reconsidered. Lapsley used the diary to express his frustration at the department and wrote about his relationships with individuals.The UK’s incoming ambassador to the EU, Dame Caroline Wilson, said it was “inappropriate” for the pair to live together at the official residence.
