One word showed Inflatable Tent that this was actually a formal document. The Foreign Office statement of regret/anger/embarrassment said it had been "withdrawn". This meant of course that it had been circulated and it was something I had trouble in getting my head round.
This did not seem to be the Foreign Office I have known.
It turned out that the list of ideas for the papal visit ("Benedict" condoms, blessing of a gay marriage etc) had been drawn up by a team "brainstorming" for the visit and was attached to an invitation to a wider meeting.
This was definitely not the Foreign Office I have known.
"You cannot be serious" was my immediate thought. It still is.
The memo was sent with a somewhat unnecessary warning that some suggestions were possibly "far-fetched" (so why send them?) and with a necessary but dangerous warning that it was not for external exposure, often a hint of something spicy to a determined leaker.
According to the recipient of the leak, the Sunday Telegraph, the memo was sent out by a young diplomat, a 23-year-old Oxford graduate, though on the say-so of a more senior official, who has been moved to "other duties". It would be interesting to know the timing of this move. Did it happen only after the leak?
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