The Accidental Diplomat, Eamon Delaney's gossipy account of the inner workings of the Department of Foreign Affairs during his time as a third secretary, has ruffled many feathers over recent months, as well as topping the bestseller list for weeks. But Quidnunc is pleased to report that this disturbance does not extend to the Department itself, to judge by files supplied under the Freedom of Information Act.
DFA says it has no records relating to Delaney's book, apart from a few press cuttings. Not even a scrap of a memo or an e-mail has passed between officials about the racy descriptions of their habits in the book, let alone the light it sheds on classified matters - or indeed the suggestions that he could be in trouble under the Official Secrets Act.
While it is good to see our mandarins are unconcerned about their public image and are not really the gossipy types portrayed by Delaney, the lack of files may just indicate how professional they really are. Indeed, they are so far ahead in the PR game that a Jo Moore type situation could never arise in Iveagh House. And that's not just because they are cute. Since the 1998 freedom of information legislation, ministers, civil servants, advisers and spinners of all sorts who have dealings with government or authorities subject to the FOI have committed practically nothing of a sensitive nature to paper. Archivists are distraught.