THE UK foreign office has come under fire after shelling out £27 million on a swanky new embassy in Zimbabwe at a time when relations with the Harare administration remain strained.

The total cost of the project was also said to be nearly 50 percent over budget with the opposition Conservatives accusing foreign secretary David Miliband of “extraordinary incompetence”.

The new embassy, which was opened in March last year, reportedly cost £10 million more than originally projected.

Foreign Office officials blamed the cost overruns on “difficult local conditions” saying construction began during a period of “political upheaval and collapse”.

The UK Times newspaper reports that critics did not see the rationale for such a massive spend since “British diplomatic efforts have failed to loosen the grip of (president) Robert Mugabe (on power) or to protect white farmers with UK connections from his murderous militias”.

Meanwhile, the massive project is also likely to raise eyebrows in Harare where officials remain concerned about the activities of embassy officials some of whom are accused of meddling in the country’s internal affairs.

Relations between Zimbabwe and the UK have been frosty over the last decade with Harare accusing the British government of pushing a regime change agenda in the country.

President Mugabe accuses the UK government sponsoring local opposition parties in a bid to remove him from power.

Harare also says the European Union imposed sanctions against Zimbabwe at the behest of UK authorities who are opposed to the country’s land reforms.

Mugabe’s Zanu PF party blames the sanctions for the country’s near-economic collapse over the last decade.

However the UK insists the sanctions were a response to human rights and electoral violations adding the “measures” are only “targeted” at individuals and companies linked to President Mugabe.