U.S. envoy is subjected to Trump rant at Heathrow

Barely had Boris Johnson installed himself in Downing Street than one of his most ardent fans, Donald Trump, announced that the two of them were working on ‘a very substantial’ trade agreement.

‘They call him “Britain Trump”,’ enthused the President. ‘They like me over there.’

But ‘The Donald’ may be distraught to learn that his assessment is a little optimistic. For I can disclose that Katie Kane, a key member of staff at the U.S. embassy in london, has felt it necessary to speak to the authorities at Heathrow airport after being subjected to a tirade against the President.

‘Katie had come into Heathrow on an overnight flight,’ a friend tells me, adding that all went well until Kane — a Special assistant to the U.S.’s billionaire ambassador robert ‘Woody’ Johnson of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceuticals dynasty — had her passport inspected.

‘Obviously, Katie has a diplomatic passport which says that she works for the U.S. government. as soon as the guy saw that, that was it. He went on a rant about Trump and the U.S.’

Kane refrained from responding. ‘Then the guy asked what she did for the government. as soon as she said she worked for the ambassador, his attitude changed completely. He started talking about london’s new embassy building and was fine.’

But Kane, who first worked for Johnson in 2015 at the New york Jets — the american football team he bought back in 2000 for $635 million — was not going to let the matter rest.

‘She calmly collected her luggage and then went and found the guy’s manager. She told him it’s detrimental to Britain to have their officials greeting people from america by mouthing off about the President of the U.S.’

The combative Johnson is not above dishing it out himself, of course. In January, he accused Theresa May of a ‘lack of leadership’ over Brexit which was seen as a breach of the special relationship.

The U.S. embassy confirms the sequence of events at Heathrow, but says the episode is ‘the sort of thing we wouldn’t comment on’. a spokesman for Heathrow says the matter is the responsibility of the Home Office, who tell me: ‘We expect all Home Office staff to maintain the highest levels of professionalism in their work.

‘With the information provided we can find no record of a complaint being made, but we are investigating.’