French officials have lodged a protest against British conservative leader David Cameron for taking jibes at their president Nicholas Sarkozy’s “dwarf” height.
According to The Independent, Cameron made a comment about "hidden dwarfs" in relation to a photo of himself and the 5ft 5in president Sarkozy in a newspaper interview.
Following that, shadow chancellor George Osborne publicly described a box placed at a speaker's lectern as a "Sarkozy Box".
Sarkozy, known to be extremely sensitive about his height, was said to be furious about the taunts, which led to an official protest about the senior Tories' failure "to show sufficient respect" to the French leader.
Details of the "Dwarf-Gate" emerged last week as Sarkozy visited London and praised Gordon Brown as a "great European and a very good friend of mine".
One diplomatic source said, "Yes, it was discussed with the French and, yes, they weren't happy about it."
The row could overshadow Cameron's chances of establishing a working relationship with one of the most senior right-wing leaders in Europe if he wins the general election later this year.
However, the Tories dismissed allegations of a rift as "nonsense" last night and pointed out that the two men had met at the French ambassador's residence in London on Friday.
The party also claimed the story had been "planted" by Labour.
