Waste of Gordon Brown’s £10k gifts to Barack Obama
IT’S no surprise Gordon Brown left the country in such a perilous economic position – he couldn’t stop spending on political gifts either.
The big-spending former prime minister showered Barack Obama with gifts worth more than £10,000 on a trip to the White House.
And how did Obama honour the US-UK “special relationship”? He gave Labour’s leader a modest set of 25 classic film DVDs.
The figures were revealed yesterday in the US register of foreign government gifts in 2009.
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Mr Brown’s lavish presents included a black and gold pen with a pen holder made from the wood of HMS Gannet, a British sloop used to fight slavery.
Factor in a couple of books, and the bill reached £10,300. Seven months later he also sent Obama two more books and a cashmere sweater, at a total cost of £637.
Sarah Brown was no less thoughtful. She bought gifts for First Lady Michelle Obama and the family’s two daughters. They included a Harris Tweed shawl, three shirts, two pairs of sunglasses, two skirts, a belt, a blazer, a pair of jeans and two necklaces totalling £303.
The Queen was far more prudent, however. Although one of the world’s richest women, she spent only £484 on framed photographs of herself and Prince Philip.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia was the most extravagant, giving gifts worth £118,000. They included a ruby and diamond jewellery set worth £82,000 and a pearl necklace at £8,800.
The cheapest gift was a £46 bottle of olive oil from Palestine president Mahmoud Abbas.