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Lord Mandelson has launched a foul-mouthed attack on the boss of Starbucks for running down the British economy. The Business Secretary's four-letter-word outburst came at a reception after the head of the U.S. coffee empire said the UK was floundering in the recession. Company chairman Howard Schultz - a multi-millionaire tycoon - infuriated the Cabinet minister by claiming Britain was in an economic 'spiral' and that consumer confidence was 'very, very poor'. Lord Mandelson surprised guests at the diplomatic reception in New York by saying: 'Why should I have this guy running down the country? Who the **** is he? How the hell are they [Starbucks] doing?' He swore while speaking to journalists at the party, held at the official residence of the British consul-general. Later, Lord Mandelson admitted he had chosen his words badly but said he had been 'standing up for the UK'. His spokesman said: 'We don't stand by the language. But we do stand by the sentiment.'Lord Mandelson had been on a whistle-stop one-day trip to the U.S. to make a speech to an audience of dignitaries and business leaders on the global economic crisis. The aim was to shatter perceptions in the U.S. that the UK is struggling to cope with the downturn. Mr Schultz made his criticism of the UK economy in an interview on U.S. television. The businessman created his global empire after seeing how popular espresso bars were in Italy. Asked how Starbucks was coping with international business conditions, he said: 'The place that concerns us the most is Western Europe, and specifically the UK. The UK is in a spiral. I think consumer confidence in the UK is very, very poor.' Lord Mandelson heard the comments while waiting to be interviewed on the same show. Once on camera, he said: 'The UK is not spiralling, although I've noticed Starbucks is in a great deal of trouble - but that might be because of their over-expansion given the state of the market. So please don't project Starbucks on to the UK economy as a whole.' Starbucks recently revealed a 69 per cent plunge in profits to $64.3million (£45million) for the three months to December. It said it would shut 300 stores worldwide.
