What, is Geithner afraid it’s the Internal Revenue Service calling to collect late charges? Does the Obama Administration really expect Americans to keep believing that the original snub was unintentional if it won’t even take the British government’s calls?

The head of the civil service, Sir Gus [O'Donnell] said the handover to President Barack Obama’s administration was severely hindering preparations for next month’s G20 summit.

In an extraordinary blunder, the usually-guarded Sir Gus said no-one in the U.S. Treasury department was answering telephone calls.

He said it meant the Government was finding it ‘unbelievably difficult’ to hold discussions ahead of the meeting of world leaders in London.

Even though the world was in the grip of the worst economic crisis in decades – top of the G20 agenda – Number 10 was having trouble getting in touch with key personnel, said the Cabinet Secretary.

‘There is nobody there,’ he told a civil service conference in Gateshead.

All so comforting. Answering the phone at 3AM? The Obama Administration can’t even answer the phone at 3PM.

Via InstaGlenn.