(ANSA) - ROME, JUL 20 - During his first official visit to the United Kingdom, then American President Bill Clinton refused tea with Queen Elizabeth and dinner in Tony Blair's country residence to "be a tourist in London and try an Indian restaurant ".
Secret documents first published by the National Archives reveal this.
Downing Street, according to the notes of Blair's private secretary Philip Barton, had organized the visit in May 1997 in great detail because it was considered crucial for "establishing a good working relationship" between the new British prime minister and the US president. The Clintons, however, "politely" declined all the proposals of London including a jamsession with the president on saxophone and Blair on guitar, a tour of the pub and a walk in Trafalgar Square. All with the aim of both the Americans and the British, we read in the documents, to present the two leaders "as young, dynamic but also serious".
In the end, none of the ideas materialized and the Clintonnons didn't even have dinner at the Indian restaurant. Instead they were hosted by the Blairs at the French restaurant Le Pont de laTour near Tower Bridge, where they ate grilled sole, halibut, wild salmon and rabbit for a final £ 298. (HANDLE).