Swiss party-going diplomat called home

The ambassador and his wife are no strangers to scandal

The Swiss Government is recalling its ambassador to Germany after a series of scandalous newspaper articles accusing him having an affair with a former nude model.

The ambassador, Thomas Borer, is accused of having a late night liaison with a woman at the Swiss embassy in Berlin whilst his wife was away.

He can no longer effectively fulfil his mission in Berlin

Joseph Deiss, Swiss Foreign Minister

Mr Borer had already gained a reputation as Switzerland's premier party-going diplomat, along with his wife Shawne Fielding, a former Texan beauty queen.

In May last year a row erupted when Ms Fielding appeared in a series of provocative photographs that were published in a German magazine.

Mr Borer will be transferred back to the capital Bern by the end of April "because he can no longer effectively fulfil his mission in Berlin," Foreign Minister Joseph Deiss said.

High heels and trenchcoat

Mr Deiss said that Mr Borer had failed to co-operate "optimally" with plans to have him return to the Swiss capital Bern voluntarily and therefore the government had been forced to order him home.

Borer denies the affair

The final straw came when a series of photographs reportedly taken on 21 March outside the embassy appeared in the Sunday tabloid Sonntags Blick.

They show a woman, identified as Djamile Rowe, a former topless model, parking her car at 0047 (2347) dressed in high heeled boots and a mini-skirt under a trenchcoat.

She climbed into a limousine driven by Mr Borer which then entered the garage under the embassy, the magazine said.

Ms Rowe was then photographed emerging from the embassy alone at 0234, at which point she allegedly got into her car and drove away.

Mr Borer told the Associated Press that he had neither on that night nor on any other received visits from men or women.

Conflicting accounts

The newspaper said it did not know what happened inside the embassy.

Ms Rowe has offered conflicting accounts of what went on.

At first she said Mr Borer only comforted her with a peck on the cheek over her break-up with a boyfriend. Later she said she had sex with the ambassador.

The couple say they will sue the magazines

The ambassador's wife Ms Fielding was away at the time of the alleged incident, giving a series of personal development seminars back in Switzerland.

Mr Borer and his wife have responded by saying that the article was "untrue and made up", accusing the media of conducting a smear campaign against them.

The denials sparked a string of articles in the daily Blick and Sonntags Blick calling Mr Borer a liar.

Mr Borer says he now intends to sue both publications.

Cowgirl pose

A year ago Mr Borer's wife provoked an inquiry by the Swiss Foreign Ministry after she appeared as the "Cowgirl from the Alps" in the German magazine Max.

The feature included shots of Ms Fielding wearing a red miniskirt in front of the Swiss flag and in a strapless evening dress on a horse on the embassy steps.

Ms Fielding - nicknamed "Berlin's hottest party girl" by some sections of the press - was also shown wearing the American flag as a necktie, and with a dollar sign tattooed above her plunging cleavage.

Afterwards the Swiss Foreign Ministry ordered Mr Borer to lower his profile, but now this has failed he will return home.

Mr Deiss said Mr Borer had refused an offer to transferred to another Swiss embassy and it is not yet known what assignment he will be given.