Britain's NATO Ambassador, 55, Faces Pressure to Curb Romantic Escapades with Young Italian Intern in Lavish Residence

BRITAIN’S ambassador to Nato has been asked to stop romping in the official residence with an Italian lover almost half his age.

Colleagues raised concerns after Ambassador Angus Lapsley, 55, started a relationship with an intern he met at Nato HQ.

UK Permanent Rep. to Nato Angus Lapsley, 55, is dating his assistant Francesca Cortini, 29 Lapsley reportedly left his wife before moving to Brussels in 2022Credit: Getty Colleagues raised concerns after Ambassador Angus Lapsley started a relationship with intern Francesca Cortini (pictured)Credit: Facebook

The dad-of-two struck up a romance with his assistant Francesca Cortini, 29.

Lapsley is entitled to use the lavish British residence, a converted five-storey hotel, which overlooks Brussels’ Royal Park.

But unusually he shares the residence with two other British ambassadors – the ambassador to Belgium and the ambassador to the EU.

The Sun understands that senior diplomats raised concerns with the Foreign Office that the relationship was “inappropriate”.

One said: “She is almost the same age as his children.”

Lapsley swerved the sack when he took Top Secret papers from the Ministry of Defence and left them at a bus stop in Kent in 2021.

He was booted out of the MoD and transferred to the Foreign Office where he resurrected his career – despite demands from generals and the British Board of Veterans that he should face trial for breaking the Official Secrets Act.

The career civil servant from Canterbury, Kent, was posted to Brussels the following year as Assistant Secretary General, the second most senior civilian rank.

Cortini joined his team in 2023, when she was 27 years old. She said her main responsibility was to “coordinate, prepare and plan meetings”.

Lapsley, who has two adult sons in their twenties, was promoted to UK ambassador to Nato, known as the permanent representative, last year.

Sources insisted his romance did not break Nato’s code of conduct.

The 32-nation alliance demands its civilian staff act with professionalism and integrity, but unlike the British military it does not bar romantic relations within the chain of command.

The former head of the Royal Navy Ben Key was sacked and stripped of his admiral rank for having an affair with a subordinate last year.

Cortini joined his team in 2023Credit: Facebook Lapsley nearly lost his job after leaving confidential papers at a bus stop in 2021Credit: AP Italian Cortini is nearly the same age as Lapsley’s childrenCredit: Facebook

The Sun understands that Lapsley told bosses about the relationship so it did not affect his security vetting.

And a Foreign Office source claimed Lapsley came under Nato rules so London was powerless to discipline him.

But a former general insisted discipline “should always be led by the home nation”.

A defence source said the romance was an “open secret” in Brussels.

They said: “They have made no attempt to hide their relationship.

“Angus used the residence as if it was his and Francesca was there for Christmas and Summer receptions.”

But the furore over the romance meant that Admiral Sir Keith Blount, the previous deputy supreme allied commander, was alerted to avoid security fears.

According to the based Ottawa Security and Defence Conference, Lapsley was still married in March 2024, a year after Cortini joined his team.

However, Nato sources suggested he was separated from his wife Gina, whom he met at University, when he moved to Brussels in September 2022.

Nato officials have scrambled to tighten the rules on relationships in the wake of the scandal which has rocked the Nato HQ.

Lapsley and Cortini both declined to comment.

An FCDO spokesperson said: “It is longstanding policy not to comment on personnel matters.”