IN THE ACCOUNT by Peter Stothard of Tony Blair’s role in the Iraq war — 30 Days — there is a hero drawn from the ranks of the Civil Service. She is Vera, a Downing Street tea lady, who is dedicated, loyal, humorous, decent, apolitical and plainly not in her post for the money. As refreshing as it was for the Prime Minister to have dealt with Vera during those extremely tense weeks, he must have a regret in retrospect. He should have appointed her and not Sir Christopher Meyer to serve as the British Ambassador in Washington.

Sir Christopher’s memoirs, DC Confidential, serialised in two national newspapers this week, appear to be about as shrewd an analysis of the politics of the Bush Administration as the BBC’s Rome is about life in the times of Caesar. It consists of the ludicrous proposition that Saddam Hussein could have been persuaded to behave himself, or France and Russia convinced that they should cast their votes in the UN to bring him down, if only Mr Blair had followed the advice of the Foreign Office and “stood up” to the US President. The notion of anyone connected with the FO urging others to show spine is laughable. The only thing that the likes of Sir Christopher have “stood up” to is the National Anthem.

Implausible versions of history are one thing, the betrayal of those with whom you have worked is quite another. This book is merely an aristocratic version of cheque-book journalism. Whether it be cheap observations about the tightness of the Prime Minister’s trousers, predictable snobbery at John Prescott’s sometimes volatile relationship with the English language or snide references to Lord Levy, Mr Blair’s Middle East envoy, which appears to reaffirm the Israelphobia that runs through Foreign Office veins, these are the words of a man who has been neither civil nor a servant. And now that he is chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, I cannot even protest to that organisation either at his decision to write such an account or that others have published it.

This is a book that will do enormous harm to the relationship between politicians and civil servants. Who will trust a senior mandarin if this is what happens soon afterwards? At one point in his eloquent prose, Sir Christopher recalls seeing a “drunken Scottish MP” who then pointed at him and asked “Who’s that f***ing prick?” A very reasonable question.