New Delhi, Sept. 10 (PTI): US ambassador David Mulford had to return from the defence ministry without meeting A.K. Antony last week as the protocol officer failed to receive him at the gate.

The officer has been sent back to the personnel and training department, officials said.

Mulford, who was scheduled to meet the defence minister around 3.30pm on September 4 — a day before Antony’s US visit, waited for 15 minutes to be escorted into the building from the gate number 11.

However, the protocol officer did not turn up and the security personnel at the gate told US embassy officials that they had no intimation about the meeting.

The protocol department is responsible for receiving dignitaries on behalf of the government and every ministry has its own protocol department.