Diplomats had 'black humour' handbook for public queries on loved ones

Irish diplomats had a handbook of terms to handle sensitive family situations at the time of the Kuwait invasion by Iraq in 1990. Picture: PA

Unknown officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs resorted to black humour to create a list of interpretations of common responses to queries from members of the public about family members trapped in Kuwait and Iraq in late 1990, according to files released by the National Archives.

The list was created around the time that Iraq had invaded neighbouring Kuwait which led to increased tension in the Middle East in anticipation of an invasion of Iraq by US-led military forces.