British Diplomat's Thai Blog Closed After Unwelcome Comments

A British diplomat's blog on a Thai newspaper website has been removed after it attracted salacious comments about his personal life.

Ian Proud, 38, wrote a seemingly innocent set of entries about life in Bangkok for the Nation newspaper's website as he neared the end of a four-year posting in Thailand.

Too many readers, however, were interested in just one thing - was the Mr Proud pictured on the blog's home page the same man they claimed to have seen regularly in Bangkok's red light district?

After several days of unwelcome publicity, Mr Proud's entries - and photograph - were today unavailable on his blog pages, with only a few innocuous comments remaining.

A foreign office spokeswoman said she was "aware" the blog had been taken down, but was not able to say whether this was at the request of Mr Proud or the British embassy, or if it was the newspaper's decision.

The department's wider policy on diplomats keeping blogs was "under review", she added.

The trouble began when a number of readers said they recognised Mr Proud from Bangkok's notorious Cowboy Street sex bars.

"I recall going to the embassy once and that same night was down on Cowboy and who did I bump into? Yes, it was Ian," wrote one. Another observed: "I saw him walking arm-in-arm with a girl that could only be described as 'two-dollar whore'. I bet that girl got a visa no problem."

Speaking before the blog was removed, Mr Proud - who has no responsibility for visas - said he had been to the area but insisted he was not a regular.

"I don't think there are many people here that haven't been in places like Soi Cowboy [Cowboy Street] at some point. My last visit was about a year ago," he said. He admitted being unprepared for the extent of interest the blog would attract: "It's a real eye-opener seeing the depths of people's feelings about a common diplomat," he said. "I couldn't write about my work. So it was harmless, cute little stories about Thailand. But the response has been quite remarkable."