MARGARET BECKETT faced criticism last night for failing to make more of an impression since taking over as Foreign Secretary and for her response to Israel’s attacks in Lebanon.

She was accused of rejecting a series of proposals from diplomats at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to raise her profile and that of her department since her surprise appointment in May.

The criticism, which unusually was sourced to unnamed officials within the Foreign Office itself, comes after suggestions of tensions between her department and Downing Street over the Government’s response to the Middle East crisis.

The most memorable British intervention to date came not from Mrs Beckett but from one of her more junior ministers, Kim Howells, who, during a visit to Beirut, accused Israel of taking revenge on the whole Lebanese nation for rocket attacks by Hezbollah.

Last night a former minister told The Times that Mrs Beckett’s failure to make her mark illustrated that Tony Blair made a mistake by appointing her to the post. “She hasn’t had a very good war, has she?” the former minister said. “It is an incredibly hard position, incredibly hard.

A Foreign Secretary in that situation has to be very quick-witted in finding metaphors and using a turn of phrase. Margaret has had 25 years in politics. Can you think in all those years of one memorable phrase she has used? Was she the right person for the job in the reshuffle? I think the answer is no.”

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