British diplomat at centre of the incredibly awkward hug responds

The British ambassador to the United States used the image as his first post on Twitter

Britain has a new ambassador to the United States, Sir Kim Darroch, who is just settling into his new Washington digs.

An experienced diplomat, Darroch previously served as national security adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron.

However, Darroch's arrival in Washington has been overshadowed by something all too familiar to many international figures: an awkward photograph and a social media mocking.

The photo in question was the first ever message on Darroch's new Twitter account. It shows the ambassador meeting President Obama during a formal ceremony at the White House.

Many online viewers couldn't help but notice, however, that the ambassador looked a little stiff.

A Reddit thread sprung up on Saturday with many users poking fun at Darroch. Here's just a few of the comments:

• “British engineering at its best. It almost looks like a real human.”

• “It looks like he's wearing fake arms!”

• “Stiff upper everything.”

• “Is our new ambassador hungover or frightened?”

• “You can see the differences in countries just with that one picture.”

• “He looks like a penguin.”

The photograph soon spread, heightening the mockery. .

Darroch finally addressed the photograph on Monday with a tweet thanking everyone for the attention given to the photograph.

“The photo may not be my finest moment (classic British response!), but I’m very excited about my new role working with people across the US, including the President,“ Darroch told WorldViews on Monday.

”I hoped my first tweet would have an impact, but I didn’t expect it to generate that much interest. As a Brit, I’m used to plenty of banter – it’s good to see that that’s just as true on Twitter as it is in person.”

Copyright: Washington Post