William Hague reveals ‘bizarre demands’ of Brits abroad

Published on 05/04/2012 00:00

BRITISH nationals are wasting embassy time with “ludicrous” inquiries about lost false teeth and jam that won’t set, William Hague said yesterday.

The Foreign Secretary urged expats and tourists not to stretch scarce consular resources by making “bizarre demands”.

Among the calls logged by overseas Foreign Office staff were requests for help erecting a chicken coop, advice on where to have Christmas lunch in Spain and a plea for assistance translating “I love you” into Hungarian.

Mr Hague said : “If, like a man in Florida last year, you find ants in your holiday rental, we are not the people to ask for pest control advice. If you are having difficulty erecting a new chicken coop in your garden in Greece, as someone else was, I am afraid that we cannot help you.”

In the speech on strengthening Britain’s consular diplomacy, he urged British nationals to be responsible while abroad.