The British Foreign Office has announced that its ambassador to the United States, Kim Darroch, has resigned as a scandal created by the recent leaks of the embassy's cables has made his further work "impossible".
"Although my posting is not due to end until the end of this year, I believe in the current circumstances the responsible course is to allow the appointment of a new ambassador. […] I am grateful to all those in the UK and the U.S. who have offered their support during these difficult few days", Darroch wrote in his resignation letter.
UK Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt said that he was deeply saddened by the ambassador's resignation and angered by the incident that forced him to do so.
"Whenever I visited Washington as foreign secretary, I was struck by Sir Kim's professionalism and intellect. I am outraged that a selection of his reports should have been leaked", he said.
Former Foreign Minister and Hunt's main rival in the race for PM post, Boris Johnson praised Darroch as a "superb diplomat" and criticised the leak of cables, saying that it has done "a grave disservice to [UK] civil servants" and their ability to deliver impartial advice to the ministers.
"It is not right that civil servants' careers and prospects should be dragged into the political agenda", Johnson said.
The head of the Diplomatic Service at the UK Foreign Office stated that he had accepted Darroch's resignation "with deep personal regret". His remark was echoed by British Prime Minister Theresa May.
"This morning I have spoken to Sir Kim Darroch. I have told him that it is a matter of great regret that he has felt it necessary to leave his position", she said.
There has been no information so far on who will be replacing Darroch as ambassador.
Darroch's resignation comes a day after President Donald Trump said that his administration is not "thrilled with a very stupid guy" London appointed as its ambassador to the US. He further stated that the diplomat had not served his country well and added that Washington won't be communicating with Darroch anymore even if he keeps his position amid the scandal.
...handled. I told @theresa_may how to do that deal, but she went her own foolish way-was unable to get it done. A disaster! I don’t know the Ambassador but have been told he is a pompous fool. Tell him the USA now has the best Economy & Military anywhere in the World, by far...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 9, 2019
The US president's criticism was apparently caused by the leaked cables, published in the newspaper Daily Mail, saying that the British ambassador characterised Trump as "inept and "incompetent" and predicted that he will allegedly end up in "disgrace”. In the cables Darroch also reportedly called the president's administration "dysfunctional, unpredictable [and] diplomatically clumsy".
