The UK ambassador to NATO has triggered a diplomatic row after allegedly moving his girlfriend – a former subordinate – into his official residence in Brussels.
Angus Lapsley, 55, was appointed as UK envoy to NATO last year after serving for three years as assistant secretary-general (ASG) for defence and policy planning at NATO Headquarters. As an ASG, he was one of the most senior officials in the organisation.
According to The Times, while Lapsley was serving as NATO's planning chief, he got into a relationship with a young woman who was working as his assistant. They reportedly met when she was still an intern, and their relationship was allegedly an “open secret” at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
The woman, who is now 29, is said to have moved into his official residence, a shared diplomatic townhouse on Rue Ducale – the former Hôtel de Croÿ.
No breach committed
The story has generated huge media interest in the UK and caused consternation in diplomatic circles. The Times reports that the UK’s incoming ambassador to the EU, Dame Caroline Wilson, said it was “inappropriate” for the young woman to live in the residence.
Questioned on the matter by reporters during Thursday's meeting of NATO defence ministers, UK Defence Secretary John Healey said he wouldn't comment on the reports, but stated that the UK "expects the highest standards of all its ambassadors".
Despite the outcry, Lapsley, a divorced father-of-two, has not breached any HR rules, since NATO does not have any rules against relationships between senior officials and subordinates.
When approached by The Times, Lapsley declined to comment, while a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said: “It is longstanding policy not to comment on personnel matters.”
This is not the first time Lapsley has been in the eye of a media storm. In 2021, he left a number of highly classified documents behind a bus stop while on secondment from the UK Foreign Office to the Ministry of Defence.
