The Foreign Office is considering buying a £20m Manhattan townhouse for a top diplomat so that she can offer “VIPs” access to a “high-quality entertainment space”.
Foreign secretary Liz Truss is said to be “very supportive” of the plan to purchase the 9,600sq ft party property, described by estate agents as “a grand and iconic residence for the new gilded age”.
The 19th-century house is owned by Guy Wildenstein, who is currently embroiled in legal turmoil in France over an alleged €550m tax fraud.
The residence would be home to Dame Barbara Woodward, the UK’s permanent representative to the UN, who served as ambassador to China from 2015 to 2020. It features five bedrooms, ten-and-a-half bathrooms and a private garden.
