Leo Varadkar criticised over ‘cringey’ letter sent to Kylie Minogue from his department

Leo Varadkar has been criticised over a letter he sent to Kylie Minogue in his capacity as Taoiseach.

Varadkar wrote to the star ahead of her concert at the 3 Arena last October. In the letter, he told her that he was a 'big fan' and offered to personally welcome her to Ireland.

"Dear Kylie, just wanted to drop you a short note in advance of the concert in Dublin," it read. "I am really looking forward to it. Am a huge fan! I understand you are staying in the Merrion Hotel which is just across the street from my office in Government Buildings. "If you like, I'd love to welcome you to Ireland personally."

He signed the letter, which was written on official Department of An Taoiseach headed paper; "Leo V Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister)". Varadkar had twice attempted to block the letter being released following a Freedom of Information request. It was eventually obtained and published by the Irish Mail On Sunday. Opposition TD James Lawless said that sending a letter like this was "demeaning of the office". "I understand there's some discretion to reach out to sports stars or cultural stars. It's a little bit cringe-worthy," the Fianna Fáil representative told the Irish Independent. "What compounds it is the refusal (to release it). What has the Taoiseach got to hide?" The Taoiseach attended Kylie's rescheduled gig in December with his partner Matthew Barrett and met her backstage.