The one displayed by Mr Bush was indeed returned, along with all other art
lent to him, as his presidency came to an end. The other, which remains in
the White House residence, was given as a gift to President Lyndon B Johnson
in 1965 by a group of Atlanticist diplomats and military officers.
In an update to his statement, a defiant Mr Pfeiffer stressed that the notion
Mr Obama had returned a bust “because of antipathy towards the British”
was “an urban legend”.
A spokesman for the British ambassador agreed. “Both President Obama and
the Prime Minister have repeatedly underlined that our two countries remain
the closest of allies.”