Iain Duncan Smith accuses Sir Ivan Rogers of leaking Brexit details as EU ambassador quits
Attack comes as PM urged to stand up for civil servants by leader of mandarins' union Dave Penman
IAIN Duncan Smith accuses Sir Ivan Rogers of leaking Brexit details in the wake of the EU ambassador's shock resignation.
The former Tory leader said the outgoing diplomat was "not God almighty" and claimed Cabinet ministers could no longer trust him.
Mr Duncan Smith suggested Sir Ivan had lost their confidence because it appeared he had a hand in the leaking of an earlier warning that a post-Brexit trade deal could take a decade to finalise.
"The truth is, I think there's a little bit of sour grapes going on here because he's not really included much in the discussion about how they are going to go about this negotiation, partly because... I think ministers don't fully trust him," the ex-Work and Pensions Secretary told Sky News.
His attack follows the publication of Sir Ivan's 1,400 word resignation letter to his staff, in which he tells them to continue to challenge the “ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking” of politicians.
It was seen as a thinly-veiled attack on Theresa May's Government and its approach to Brexit, which he was accused of being too pessimistic about.
But Mr Duncan Smith said the email was "verging on the pompous" and was a sign of "sour grapes".
It comes as Theresa May has been accused of not defending the independence of civil servants.
The Prime Minister was urged to stand up for their integrity and impartiality by Dave Penman, leader of mandarins' union the FDA, and warned not to surround herself with "yes men and women".
He echoed the words in Sir Ivan Rogers’ resignation email to staff, stressing the importance of officials being able to "speak truth unto power".
But following the announcement of his decision to quit, pro-Brexit politicians have criticised the ambassador's approach to the job in Brussels.
Tory MP Dominic Raab claimed Sir Ivan's "heart hasn't really been in Brexit" and his resignation will be "quietly, cautiously and respectfully welcomed at the top of Government".
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said a "tough Brexiteer" should replace Sir Ivan, and called for a full clear-out of Foreign Office officials.
Mr Penman said: "It doesn't surprise me that some politicians are calling for pro-Brexit civil servants to be appointed.
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“What surprises me is the deafening silence from ministers who should be taking to the airwaves to defend the integrity and capability of the impartial civil service.
"The Prime Minister herself has publicly criticised civil servants, trivialised those who suggest that the civil service is being under-resourced and now sits back as key officials are pilloried by a succession of former ministers.
"If the civil service is to deliver a successful Brexit negotiation, the recipe for that success is unlikely to be to starve it of resources, lack clarity of objective and be surrounded with yes men and women who will not speak truth unto power."
Defending Sir Ivan, Brussels officials said his resignation meant the UK had lost a "professional" diplomat who had always "loyally defended" his Government.
European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said: "We regret the loss of a very professional, very knowledgeable - while not always easy - interlocutor and diplomat who always loyally defended the interests of his Government."
And the European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, paid tribute by describing him as "a much-respected UK civil servant in Brussels who knew what he was talking about".
But Tory former trade secretary Peter Lilley accused Sir Ivan of "sour grapes", as he called for the ambassador to be replaced with someone tough enough to walk away from negotiations with no trade deal at all.
The ex-Cabinet member told BBC Radio Four's World at One: "Why did he put out this long, 1,400-word letter, half of which reads like a sort of CV - this is my job, I'm a very clever person, anyone who is looking for someone to employ, I'm available.
"And the other half looks like some degree of sour grapes, and possibly some genuine degree of misunderstanding between him and ministers, or concern about what ministers are doing.
"It would be very unusual to have somebody leading the team who was not really committed to leaving. And one has a feeling that many diplomats, Eurocrats, are actually in the business of trying to negotiate a way back in, rather than committing to getting us out.”
But former Foreign Office permanent secretary Lord Ricketts attacked the "denigration" of Sir Ivan on the same programme.