OUT IN THE OPEN
Who is Kim Darroch? UK ambassador to US who resigned after Trump row
SIR Kim Darroch hit the headlines after a number of secret cables were leaked and has now resigned as a result.
But what did the diplomat say about President Trump and what caused him to step down? Here's what we know.
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Who is Kim Darroch?
Sir Kim is one of the UK’s most senior diplomats in a career that spans three decades.
The 65-year-old is currently Britain’s ambassador to the US.
He was born in the village of South Stanley, County Durham in Aprial 1954.
He went to Durham University to study Zoology and joined the diplomatic service in 1977.
In a wide-ranging career he has had two postings to Brussels as well as tours of Tokyo and Rome.
Sir Kim has served as the UK Permanent Representative to the European Union from 2007 to 2011.
Before that position he was the EU advisor to the Prime Minister and the Head of the Cabinet Office European Secretariat from 2004 to 2007.
Between January 2012 and September 2015 he was the Prime Minister’s National Security Advisor.
Sir Kim married his wife Vanessa in 1978 and they have two grown-up children, Simon and Georgina.
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What did he say about Donald Trump?
Sir Kim used secret cables – known as ‘diptels’ - to express his views on Donald Trump and his administration.
In a number of memos he called Trump “inept” as well as “incompetent” and “insecure”.
He described his White House administration as “uniquely dysfunctional”.
Sir Kim Darroch's alleged leaked memos
- "As seen from here, we really don't believe that this Administration is going to become substantially more normal; less dysfunctional, less unpredictable, less faction-riven, less diplomatically clumsy and inept."
- "I don't think this Administration will ever look competent."
- "For a man who has risen to the highest office on the planet, President Trump radiates insecurity."
- "His team were also dazzled, telling us that this had been a visit like no other - the hottest ticket of their careers. These are close contacts, with whom we have spent years building relationships: they are the gate keepers and the "Trump Whisperers" - the individuals we rely upon to ensure the UK voice is being heard in the West Wing.
- (Talking about Iran airstrikes) "It's more likely that he was never fully on board and that he was worried about how this apparent reversal of his 2016 campaign promises would look come 2020"
- "The worst cannot be ruled out" (Collusion between Trump and Russia)
- "It's important to 'flood the zone': you want as many as possible of those who Trump consults to give him the same answer. So we need to be creative in using all the channels available to us through our relationships with his Cabinet, the White House staff, and our contacts among his outside friends."
- "Of the main campaign promises, not an inch of the Wall has been built; the executive orders on travel bans from Muslim countries have been blocked by the state courts; tax reform and the infrastructure package have been pushed into the middle distance; and the repeal and replacement of Obamacare is on a knife edge."
What did Trump say about Darroch?
Donald Trump hit back at the ambassador, saying he had “not served the UK well”.
He said: "We are not big fans of that man and he has not served the UK well.
"So I can understand it, and I can say things about him but I won't bother."
Has he resigned?
Sir Kim said it had become ";impossible" for him to carry out his £185,000 a year role on July 10.
In a letter to Sir Simon McDonald, the permanent under secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sir Kim wrote: "The current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like.
"I am grateful to all those in the UK and the US, who have offered their support during this difficult few days. This has brought home to me the depth of friendship and close ties between our two countries. I have been deeply touched.
"I am also grateful to all those with whom I have worked over the last four decades, particularly my team here in the US. The professionalism and integrity of the British civil service is the envy of the world. I will leave it full of confidence that its values remain in safe hands."
MPs have now come forward to support Sir Kim - including Theresa May, who said it is a "matter of deep regret" that Sir Kim felt it necessary to stand down.
It is understood the PM did not want him to resign and had urged him to stay - but he made it clear to her his mind was made up as he thought his position had become untenable following Trump's decisions to bar him from attending key events and working together.
She even sent a written note supporting him this week, her spokesperson said earlier.
What did Boris Johnson say about him during the ITV debate?
Friends say Sir Kim decided the game was up last night after watching Boris Johnson refuse to back him during live TV debate last night.
The Tory leadership candidate refused several times to say he would keep Sir Kim in his post if he became prime minister.
But he softened his language this afternoon and lavished praise on him.
He said on the campaign trial that he was a "super diplomat" and it was "wrong to drag civil servants into the political arena".
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However, he still didn't say he would have kept him if he became PM.
Boris added: "I think whoever did it should be run down, caught and eviscerated, quite frankly. It’s not right that advice to ministers, civil servants must be able to make in the spirit of freedom, should be leaked."
Several MPs have now blamed Boris for the decision to step down.
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