Nick Clegg furious at Obama snub

Nick Clegg, leader of the Lib Dems, has got his knickers in a twist because he was denied the chance to meet President Barack Obama during his visit to London. Initially, Clegg accepted that he would not be meeting the president because it is not an official state visit. However, when he heard that David Cameron, the Conservative leader, had been granted an audience at the US ambassador's residence (above),his indignation knew no limits. He got hold of the Foreign Secretary David Miliband and derided him for not arranging a similar meeting for him.

"I am really annoyed," Clegg told the Daily Mail. "As it was not a state visit I understood I wouldn't get to see him. But when I found out Obama was meeting the Queen and David Cameron I got on the phone to David Miliband to ask him what was going on. Frankly, it doesn't look good for Cameron to see him and for me not to."

Some would question that. Just over a year from now, Cameron is very likely to be the next Prime Minister. The best Clegg can hope for, according to The First Post’s Westminster insider, the Mole, is Minister for Teacups in a Lib-Labour coalition. But that, frankly, is highly improbable: it’s more likely that 'Cleggover' - so nicknamed because of his boast in a magazine interview last year that he had had "up to 30 lovers" - will still be the leader of a minority party.

Meanwhile, the Tories are cock-a-hoop that Obama has found time to see their man. Cameron is due to spend 30 minutes with Obama later today, and it is understood that the meeting was at the president's request, and so therefore could not be overruled by Gordon Brown.

Obama met the Tory leader in the US last summer when he was running for office and the pair are said to have "struck a chord". The Daily Mail claims that Obama's advisors reviewed his G20 schedule after aides based in the UK indicated to Washington that Cameron was likely to be in Downing Street by next year.