Spectacularly bitchy book still entertains

DC Confidential, by Christopher Meyer, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, €24.

The red socks should have been a dead giveaway. As her Brittanic majesty's ambassador in Washington in the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, Christopher Meyer was naturally required to be the soul of discretion at all times.

His colourful choice of footwear, however, always suggested a man who was secretly desperate to cause a splash.

With this book, he has managed to do ...