British Consular asked to translate for man’s tattoo
Silencing a noisy cockerel, supplying Olympic tickets and providing contact details for Sir Paul McCartney’s wife were among the most unusual requests to British Consular staff.
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office said that while the requests were good natured, they could take valuable time away from helping Britons abroad in genuine distress.
Over the last year, the FCO handled more than a million consular enquiries and supported some 52,135 British nationals in difficulty abroad, it said.
"However, our consular staff overseas continue to receive a number of enquiries that they simply cannot provide assistance for," it said.
These include:
– Consular staff in Beijing were asked to help a woman who had bought a pair of football boots that were ‘Made in China’ but were poor quality
– In Kuala Lumpur they were asked if the FCO could help pay to send their children to an International School
– A man who required hospital treatment in Cambodia when a monkey dislodged a stone that hit him demanded help getting compensation and wanted assurance that it would not happen again
– A man asked FCO staff in Rome to translate a phrase for a tattoo that he wanted
– A woman requested that consular staff in Tel Aviv order her husband to get fit and eat healthily so that they could have children
– A man asked consular staff in Stockholm to check the credentials of a woman whom he had met online
– A man asked the Consulate in Montreal for information to settle a £1,000 wager on the colour of the British passport
– A number of Consular staff across the world have been asked for the best place to watch the football.
Minister for Consular Affair Mark Simmonds said: "FCO staff help many thousands of British nationals facing serious difficulties around the world every year.
"We also receive over a million enquiries each year, so it is important that people understand what we can and cannot do to support them when they are abroad.
"We are not in a position to help people make travel arrangements or social plans, but we do help those who face real problems abroad. These can include victims of crime, bereaved families who have lost a loved one abroad or Britons who have been arrested or detained. We aim to continue to focus on supporting those who really need our help in the coming year."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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