Obama officials 'mocked Britain in secret and treated "special relationship" as a joke'

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The so-called special relationship between the US and UK was regarded as a joke by Obama administration officials, a former government aide has said.

Jeremy Shapiro, who served as an adviser in the US state department under Barack Obama, said the relationship was "unrequited".

He told the Cheltenham Literature Festival that while officials publicly stressed the importance of the relationship, in private they mocked the idea, making jokes about the Falklands.

Mr Shapiro said he would insert references to the Malvinas – the Argentine name for the Falkland islands – into press conferences.

The Falkland Islands remain a disputed territory years after war broke out between Argentina and Britain in 1982. The violence resulted in the deaths of 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen.

Mr Shapiro, who served as a senior adviser to the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs between 2009 and 2013, told an audience the US-UK bond "was never really something that was very important to the United States".

"From my perspective it was very important for us to mention the special relationship in every press conference that we had when the UK were here," he said

“But really we laughed about it behind the scenes. Typically, I would try and slip in a reference to the Malvinas or something to spoil it.”

He added: “It was a close relationship, a good relationship and a productive relationship.

“But it was the kind of relationship we would have with other countries.”