Alwaght- US President Donald Trump lashed out at the UK ambassador in Washington who described the White House as “incompetent” and “inept”, and said Sir Kim Darroch “has not served the UK well”.
In the highly sensitive documents, which were intended for civil servants and ministers in London but were leaked to The Mail on Sunday, Sir Kim described the White House as “incompetent” and “inept”, writing: “We don’t really believe this administration is going to become substantially more normal.”
Speaking to reporters in New Jersey on Sunday, Mr Trump said: “The ambassador has not served the UK well, I can tell you that.” He added: “We are not big fans of that man and he has not served the UK well ... I can say things about him but I won’t bother.”
The UK's top diplomat also suggested that in order to communicate with the US president “you need to make your points simple, even blunt”.
Although likely to prove highly embarrassing for the government, the Foreign Office defended Sir Kim’s comments as an “honest, unvarnished” assessment of politics in the US.
“Their views are not necessarily the views of ministers or indeed the government. But we pay them to be candid. Just as the US ambassador here will send back his reading of Westminster politics and personalities,” a spokesperson said.
The UK government said earlier today that it had launched an investigation to discover who leaked the memos, while the Foreign Office stated: “Of course we would expect such advice to be handled by ministers and civil servants in the right way, and it’s important that our ambassadors can offer their advice and for it remain confidential.
“Our team in Washington have strong relations with the White House and no doubt ... these will withstand such mischievous behaviour.”
