The Foreign Office has hardly shrouded itself in glory today.
The front pages of both the Mail on Sunday and Sunday Telegraph carry details of the offensive FCO memo preparing for September's Papal visit, suggesting that the Pope might like to find time to open an abortion clinic, officiate at a civil ceremony for a gay couple and launch his own brand of condoms while he is in Britain.
Elsewhere in the Mail on Sunday is news of a rebranding of the FCO logo, as the two images below show:
All that appears to have happened is a change in the font - to one called Frutiger.
As the Mail explains:
"A glossy brochure which accompanies the rebrand claims that the new identity – featuring the Royal Crest and a new typeface for the words ‘Foreign & Commonwealth Office’ – will ‘subtly represent the ‘‘Power to influence”’. The new FCO brand came into effect last month with all embassies and other posts around the world issued with a ‘brand tool kit’ including a lists of do’s and don’ts on how to use the new logo... According to the FCO, its new brand represents six words: ‘Empowering, Insightful, Principled, Persuasive, Strategic and Intelligent’."
And the cost to the taxpayer? A mere £80,000. Truly unbelievable.
Methinks a change of management is more important than a rebrand...
