British diplomats in the US have been forced to apologise after revealing they were hosting a party to celebrate the anniversary of the burning of the White House.

The British Embassy in Washington held a ‘White House barbeque’ yesterday to mark the two hundredth anniversary of Britain capturing the US capital and setting fire to the President’s iconic address.

The Embassy even sent a message on Twitter from its official account with a photograph of a White House cake, flanked by British and American flags and surrounded by sparkler fireworks.

British diplomats tweeted this picture to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the burning of the White House

A caption accompanying the photograph, revealed by the Telegraph newspaper today, read: ‘Commemorating the 200th anniversary of burning the White House. Only sparklers this time!’

Three hours later, after receiving dozens of angry replies from Americans on Twitter, the Embassy issued an apology.

A message explained: ‘We meant to mark an event in history & celebrate our strong friendship today.’

The original tweet referred to the events of August 24 1814 when British troops occupied Washington for 26 hours - setting fire to several buildings, including the Capitol and the White House.

British troops were forced to withdraw from the US capital and return to their ships when a heavy thunderstorm and tornado struck.

It was the only time in history that the US capital has been invaded and caused substantial damage to the White House. The British occupation forced the then US President James Madison to flee with his with Dolley.

British troops ransacked Washington in 1814 - the only time a foreign power has occupied the American capital

A view of the White House in Washington DC after the British attack on August 24, 1814. The painting is by , William Strickland

The Embassy tweet sparked fury in the US with Americans lashing out at the ‘extremely poor taste’ massage.

Yossi Gestetner ‏wrote: ‘HELLO David Cameron. The tweet by [the British Embassy] is of poor taste. Disappointed in the Conservatives.’

The British Embassy had earlier revealed it was holding a ‘White House BBQ’ to mark the 200th anniversary of the ‘rather unfortunate event in UK/US relations’.