Afternoon summary
- A senior Conservative MP has asked the Metropolitan police to investigate the leak of sensitive memos from Sir Kim Darroch, the British ambassador to Washington, criticising the Trump administration. Tabling an urgent question in the Commons, Tom Tugendhat, chair of the foreign affairs committee, told MPs:
I have today written to the commissioner of the Metropolitan police to ask that a criminal investigation also be opened into the leak.
The government itself has not called in the police, but Sir Alan Duncan, the Foreign Office minister, told MPs: “If evidence of criminality is found, then yes, the police could be involved.” Duncan also condemned the leak very strongly and said Darroch had the governmnent’s full confidence. He said:
Her Majesty’s government utterly deplores this serious breach of classified information. It is totally unacceptable. As the prime minister has already said, we retain full confidence in the British ambassador to Washington Sir Kim Darroch, for whom we have enormous respect as a distinguished and long-serving diplomat.
- Liz Truss, the chief secretary to the Treasury, has told MPs that the government is trying to resolve the problem caused by consultant doctors refusing to work overtime because they fear they will be worse off under new pension rules. In response to an urgent question about the crisis, Truss said:
Some senior clinicians face pension tax charges due to the increase in the value of their pension accrual, in fact I understand that the Secretary of State for Health is currently in discussion with senior representatives from the BMA, and the Government is taking this issue very seriously.
Truss said a consultation addressing this would be published shortly. She went on:
There is a fundamental distinction between how do we deal with those issues in the NHS, which the Health Secretary is very much leading on, and the broader issue of our pension system which is there to encourage people to save. That has to be considered in an holistic manner, so we can’t just design it around one workforce, it has to be designed to work for everybody in both the public and private sector.
That’s all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments.
The Labour MP Stephen Twigg has also announced that he is standing down at the next election. Twigg became the face of Labour’s 1997 landslide victory when he unexpectedly won Enfield Southgate, beating Michael Portillo. After losing his seat in 2005, he was reelected as MP for Liverpool West Derby in 2010. He says that, having been an elected representative for most of the last 30 years (he was also president of the NUS, and a councillor), he has decided as he approaches his mid-50s that he wants to do something new.
Today I have written as set out below to members of @WestDerbyCLP explaining that I will not be seeking reselection ahead of the next General Election. pic.twitter.com/XrnGDC8YGy
— Stephen Twigg (@StephenTwigg) July 8, 2019
Labour Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford says Wales's support for union not unconditional
Mark Drakeford, the Labour first minister of Wales, has suggested that his support for Wales remaining in the UK is not unconditional. He was speaking to the Welsh assembly’s external affairs committee and, judging by this clip (I did not see the full hearing), his comment may not amount to much more than a statement of the obvious. But Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalist party, claims his admission is significant.
Here is the clip.
BREAKING: First Minister Mark Drakeford admits that Wales should consider independence if Scotland votes to leave the UK, during questioning from @DelythJewellAM at @SeneddEAAL. #indyWales pic.twitter.com/Nby7dWt121
— Plaid Cymru (@Plaid_Cymru) July 8, 2019
This is what Drakeford said:
If you believe the UK is a voluntary association of four nations you have to face the possibility that some component parts of the United Kingdom may no longer choose to be part of it.
If that were to be the case in future then of course, any sensible political party or government would have to reassess Wales’ place in the components that were there in the future.
So in that sense it can’t possibly be unconditional because there are other moving parts here of which we are not in control.
And this is from Delyth Jewell, Plaid’s shadow international relations minister, explaining why Plaid thinks this is significant.
The significance of this development cannot be overstated - this is a monumental day in the history of the Welsh nation as a Labour first minister finally admits that independence has to be seriously considered as offering the best future for Wales.
As the ongoing political crisis engulfing the UK shows no sign of abating, the only responsible course of action for Welsh government now is to urgently begin the work of scoping out how an independent Welsh state would function.
The first minister must therefore announce an in-depth review of our current fiscal situation in order to prepare us for independence day, building on the excellent work contained in the Government Expenditure and Revenue Wales report by the Wales Governance Centre.
Remember the controversy about Boris Johnson claiming that, if the UK left the EU without a deal, it would be able to use article 24 of the general agreement on tariffs and trade (Gatt) to carry on tariff-free trade with the EU? Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, was one of many people who pointed out that Johnson was wrong, and Johnson subsequently clarified his position, saying the EU would of course have to agree.
Now Roberto Azevêdo, director general of the World Trade Organisation (the successor to Gatt) has also clarified that article 24 would not be an option for the UK in the event of no-deal. In an interview with Prospect he said:
Article XXIV of the Gatt is simply the provision of global trade law under which free trade agreements and customs unions are concluded ... If there is no agreement, then article XXIV would not apply, and the standard WTO terms would.
Duncan finishes by thanking MPs for their cross-party support on this matter, stresses the Commons’s support for Kim Darroch, and expresses the government’s respect for President Trump and his office.
Duncan says the government does not see any evidence to suggest another country was involved in the leak. But it is not ruling anything out, he says.
Philip Hollobone, a Conservative, asks how many people would have read diplomatic telegrams like this.
Duncan says typically more than 100 people would get to see dispatches like these ones, but it would depend on what their security classification was.
Bob Stewart, a Conservative, says whoever leaked this information was a “traitor”.
Duncan says this was “a total and inexcusable breach of trust”. Without that trust government cannot function, he says.
Duncan says he hopes any decision about when Darroch finishes in Washington should not be influenced by this leak.
Michael Fabricant, a Conservative, asks Duncan to confirm there will be a prosecution if the law has been broken.
Duncan broadly agrees, but says that it is not for ministers to take decisions about who gets prosecuted.
Andrew Bridgen, a Tory, asks if Duncan thinks there is any link between the timing of the link and the fact that, only a week ago, it was reported that Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, fancied Darroch’s job.
Duncan says he finds these conspiracy theories tiresome.
Bob Seely, a Conservative, says that if the person who leaked the information signed the Official Secrets Act, then the law will have been broken, and the police must be involved.
Duncan says whatever law applies will be followed.
Duncan says, hearing Nigel Farage on the radio this morning, he first threw something at it, and then turned his radio off.
Duncan says, if the leaker is found, he hopes they will regret what what they did for the rest of their life.
Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan condemns Farage for calling for Darroch to be sacked
Duncan says the Commons should condemn the way Nigel Farage leapt on a bandwagon yesterday and called for Kim Darroch to be sacked. He says any respect MPs may have had for Farage will have gone after that.
Labour’s Ben Bradshaw says it is inconceivable that a civil servant was responsible. So will the phone records of ministers and advisers be investigate? And he suggests that Brexiter were involved in the leak.
Duncan says he has been trying to think of an explanation for the leak, but he says it is hard to think of one that adds up.
Sir Bill Cash, the Tory Brexiter, says the real problem is that Darroch was too critical of the US president.
These toxic and unjustified attacks on the president of the United States and his administration are regarded by many people as completely unjustified.
As chairman of the European scrutiny committee, I was more than well aware of Sir Kim’s own prejudices in relation to the EU.
Surely it is not his so-called frankness which should be the issue but his lack of judgment which disqualifies him from his post.
Duncan says that contribution was “unworthy” of Cash. He says Darroch’s reporting was of the highest calibre.
Updated
Labour’s Hilary Benn asks why Jeremy Hunt said he did not agree with what Kim Darroch said. He says many MPs think Darroch was just telling the truth.
Duncan says Hunt was making a distinction between an analytical assessment and the view of the government.
Duncan says it is fortunate for the reputation of the Foreign Office that Nigel Farage has ruled himself out as a candidate for next ambassador.
Duncan says the Mail on Sunday reports quoted extracts from Kim Darroch’s memos out of context.
He says, having read Darroch’s dispatches over the years, he knows they are extremely balanced.
He says that if people read the full memos when they eventually get released, after 30 years, they will realise that the Mail on Sunday gave a misleading impression of what Darroch was saying.
Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, is speaking now.
She goes back to 1979, and says that when the Iranian revolution happened, the Foreign Office had to launch an inquiry into why it had not seen the revolution coming.
The inquiry report stressed the importance of honest information being fed back to London, she says.
She says diplomats need to be reassured that they do not need to fear politically motivated truths. And she says they need to be told to keep telling the truth.
Duncan agrees. He says if diplomats do not give candid advice, their reports have less value.
He says the Foreign Office will always reassure diplomats that, if they speak truth unto power, they will not be personally blamed for that.
Senior Tory MP says he has asked police to investigate Kim Darroch leak
Tugendhat is responding to Duncan.
He says he is worried the UK is getting a reputation for leaking.
He says he has written to the Metropolitan police commissioner asking her to launch a criminal investigation.
- Tom Tugendhat, the Tory MP who chairs the Commons foreign affairs committee, says he has asked the police to investigate the Darroch leak.
Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan responds to urgent question about Darroch leak
Tom Tugendhat, the Tory chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, asks his urgent question about the Kim Darroch leak.
Sir Alan Duncan, the Foreign Office minister, says the government deplores the leak of the Kim Darroch correspondence. He says the government continues to have confidence in Darroch.
He says diplomats are paid to be frank.
And he says Darroch’s views are not necessarily those of the government.
He says the Cabinet Office will lead a cross-government leak inquiry. It will be very thorough, he says.
The Labour MP Stephen Pound is also standing down at the next election. Pound, 71, has been MP for Ealing North since 1997.
The legend that is Stephen Pound MP will be standing down at the next election. Ealing Labour would like to thank him for the tremendous service given to our community, and many within the community will miss him greatly. Sending you the warmest wishes for the future Steve. pic.twitter.com/IZx9zPAUZ9
— Ealing Labour (@EalingLabour) July 8, 2019
Photograph: Imageplotter/REX/Shutterstock
From the BBC’s Ian Watson
i'm hearing the big unions are unlikely to reach a common position on #brexit at their meeting today. When @jeremycorbyn meets them later he'll be pressed to take a clearer stance on a referendum by @gmb @unisontweets & @UsdawUnion but doesn't look like @unitetheunion are moving
— iain watson (@iainjwatson) July 8, 2019
This is from Sky’s diplomatic editor Dominic Waghorn on the Kim Darroch leak.
#KimDarroch files are the most candid and objective view we have yet of the dysfunctional chaos in the White House. We've heard similar before but all from ex officials arguably with axes to grind. His observations should worry us much more than concerns about a leaky Whitehall.
— Dominic Waghorn (@DominicWaghorn) July 8, 2019
Lunchtime summary
- The public should be worried about a no-deal Brexit, the former top civil servant at the Department for Exiting the European Union has said. As Lisa O’Carroll reports, in his first interview since retiring three months ago, Philip Rycroft, the former permanent secretary at DExEU, said: “I think everybody should be worried about what happens in a no-deal situation. We would be taking a step into the unknown.” He told the BBC’s Panorama programme that while Brexit planning in the civil service was in good shape, leaving with no deal, which is one of the options favoured by the Tory leadership contender Boris Johnson, would be “fraught with difficulty”.
- Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach (prime minister), has said there would be a “great deal of reluctance” amongst EU leaders to grant the UK another Brexit extension. Speaking at an event in Dublin, he said:
There would be a great deal of reluctance among European prime ministers to grant another extension beyond October 31. We certainly wouldn’t rule it out and from Ireland’s point of view we’d be as facilitative to the UK as is possible, but I think a lot of other countries have become very frustrated at these rolling extensions so if there was another extension it would have to be for a particular reason.
- Anti-Christian persecution should be called out with the label “Christophobia”, Jeremy Hunt has urged. He used the term as he spoke at a news conference to mark the publication of a report saying should be prepared to impose sanctions against countries that persecute Christians. Hunt, the foreign secretary, said:
[The report] says that for too long governments have preferred the vague language of general condemnation, rather than face the specific problem of anti-Christian discrimination and persecution. The report recommends that I instruct my officials to define this abuse and I believe we should do that by calling it out clearly with the label Christophobia.
Boris Johnson, Hunt’s rival for the Tory leadership, also welcomed the report.
I welcome the @ForeignOffice review published today into the persecution of Christians abroad. If I am fortunate enough to become PM, I will always prioritise protecting religious freedoms and stand up for those facing persecution https://t.co/iC9qHXd837
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 8, 2019
The report was published as a new poll said that 60% of Conservative members think Islam is “generally a threat to Western civilisation”. (See 1.29pm.) But the report itself said that its publication was not “a stalking horse for the Islamophobic far right, nor does it give the Islamophobic right a stick to beat Islam with.”
- Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, has said he wants to see “a realignment of politics ... on the leave side”. (See 11.29am.)
- The Brexiter Labour MP Kate Hoey has said she will stand down at the next election. (See 1.17pm.)
Theresa May has been giving a series of farewell speeches, highlighting aspects of her premiership (“celebrating her legacy” would probably be a bit of an exaggeration) and this morning she visited Northwood, which is home to both the Nato maritime HQ and the UK’s permanent joint headquarters, where British military operations are masterminded. In her speech she praised the role played by the military, and she included a nice tribute to their families.
Of course, other militaries are not the only partners involved in the success of our armed forces.
In fact the most important partners are not in uniform at all – rather, they are the children, friends and families of the wider forces community, who do so much to support their loved ones who serve.It is not easy being part of the forces family.
Not easy for children to move from school to school.
Not easy for partners to build new careers and new friendships every time their loved one is redeployed.
I cannot imagine how it must feel to wave goodbye to someone you care deeply about, knowing you won’t see them again for many months – or even hear from them, if they are serving out of reach beneath the waves as part of our continuous at-sea deterrent.
And none of us would wish to imagine how it feels to lose a loved one in the service of their country.
Indeed, one of the hardest tasks of my premiership was finding the words to write to a young girl who would never know her father, after he was tragically killed in Iraq.
So I want to take this opportunity to recognise the contribution that you make, and to thank each and every one of you for helping to make our armed forces the very best in the world.
May has had to write very few letters to the relatives of members of the armed forces killed on active service. For her three predecessors, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron, this was a much more regular occurrence. Not everything in British life is getting worse.
HuffPost’s Paul Waugh says Katy Clark, the former Labour MP who now works for Jeremy Corbyn, is also seen as a potential replacement for Kate Hoey.
Early Left favourites to succeed Kate Hoey in Vauxhall are @PeoplesMomentum chief @ParkerCiccone (lives locally) and Katy Clark, ex-MP and senior staffer to Corbyn (lives locally, daughter at local school). Should be fascinating selection as centrists still influential in CLP.
— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) July 8, 2019
60% of Tory members think Islam 'generally threat to Western civilisation', poll suggests
There has been yet more polling which illustrates the somewhat hair-raising views of Conservative members towards Islam, including the finding that 60% believe the religion is “generally a threat to Western civilisation”.
It comes via YouGov polling of party members, who are in the process of choosing the next prime minister, commissioned by the campaign group Hope Not Hate.
The polling found only 17% believe Islam is “generally compatible with Western civilisation”’, while 54% think the faith is “generally a threat to the British way of life”.
Hope Not Hate released other findings from the same poll late last month which showed that nearly half of the 160,000-strong Tory membership would prefer not to have a Muslim prime minister, and 45% think some areas are not safe for non-Muslims.
The extent of Islamophobia in the party has been an issue during the leadership campaign, with home secretary Sajid Javid getting other candidates to sign up to an independent inquiry into it, a commitment later seemingly watered down by Boris Johnson.
An episode of Channel 4’s Dispatches programme due to be broadcast on Monday evening has uncovered new anti-Islam comments by members.
My colleague Jessica Elgot says Laura Parker, Momentum’s national coordinator, is thought to be keen to replace Kate Hoey as MP for Vauxhall.
Momentum's Laura Parker, who stood for Labour in London at the EU elections, has long been tipped to have an eye on this seat... https://t.co/fgwPjm8xLN
— Jessica Elgot (@jessicaelgot) July 8, 2019
Labour Brexiter Kate Hoey to stand down as MP
The Labour MP Kate Hoey has announced that she is standing down at the next election. Aged 73, Hoey has been MP for Vauxhall in south London for 30 years.
Whoever is fortunate enough to be the next MP for Vauxhall I wish them well. pic.twitter.com/f8TKl43E1r
— Kate Hoey (@KateHoeyMP) July 8, 2019
Hoey is one of the most prominent Brexiters in the Labour party, and she has repeatedly voted with the Tories in key votes on Brexit. We may get some more announcements today, because Labour has asked MPs to say by tonight whether or not they intend to stand again.
Boris Johnson has posted a picture of himself on Twitter filling in his ballot paper for the Conservative leadership.
This morning I voted to deliver Brexit by October 31st, unite our country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn. I’m asking all Conservative Party members across the country to use their vote to do the same
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 8, 2019
Join the team 👉 https://t.co/tGRXu94CmT pic.twitter.com/3vRdupnwHS
The most interesting thing, I suspect, is the picture of the kitchen. After their row in her flat in Camberwell, details of which were leaked to the Guardian, Johnson and his girlfriend Carrie Symonds moved out, and since then it has not been clear where they have been living. This may be a clue.
From the Daily Mirror’s Oliver Milne
NEW Labour Party staff have voted to accept the party pay deal (£800 quid and five days off over Christmas) ending fears that organisers across the country might have gone on strike.
— Oliver Milne (@OliverMilne) July 8, 2019
There are two urgent questions in the Commons today.
Two UQ’s:
— Labour Whips (@labourwhips) July 8, 2019
1) @TomTugendhat on steps taken to ensure that the unauthorised disclosure of communications from the UK’s Ambassador to USA are fully investigated by all relevant agencies
2) @AndrewSelous on the tax treatment of NHS pensions and its impact on service provision
Lord Renwick, a British ambassador to the US in the 1990s, told Radio 5 Live’s Emma Barnett that the Mail on Sunday leak meant Sir Kim Darroch’s position as ambassador was now untenable. He explained:
[Darroch] hasn’t done anything wrong but his position has become untenable. There will of course be a decent interval. He will then have to be moved on. So the leaker has rendered his position untenable and you know, it has completely undermined any relationship of confidence he might have with Trump and his administration. That’s not Darroch’s fault, but we’ve got to put a stop to this because every ambassador right now writing a cable to London is starting to wonder ‘what is this going to look like if it ends up in the papers?’
Risk of no-deal Brexit has 'never been higher', says Irish government
In an article for the Irish Times Simon Coveney, the Irish deputy prime minister and foreign minister, says the chances of a no-deal Brexit have “never been higher”. Tomorrow the Irish cabinet will consider an update contingency action plan for no-deal, he says.
He said people should not assume that, because Brexit has been delayed before, it will get delayed again. He says:
We hope sensible evidence-based politics prevails over slogans in the UK, but we cannot bank on that. One of the biggest dangers Ireland faces in the weeks ahead is the “boy who cried wolf” effect, whereby people and business assume that because a disorderly Brexit was averted in March and April the same will happen in October. To assume this would be a serious error.
The government isn’t the only player in this. Businesses will need to ensure that they are prepared. Major multinational firms have done so, as have many Irish companies, but given the amount of small and medium enterprises in Ireland, not to mention their exposure to the UK market, we need to see concerted efforts by them in the weeks ahead.
Coveney also says the backstop is not just about ensuring there is no physical infrastructure at the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The backstop is much more than just avoiding physical infrastructure. It is also about avoiding related checks and controls, protecting North-South co-operation and the all-island economy, conditions that created tens of thousands of jobs, normalised relations on this island and sustained peace.
This is a rebuke to British Brexiters who claim that “alternative arrangements”, like those set out by the Alternative Arrangements Commission, could provide a substitute for the backstop.
No 10 backs ambassador to US but says government does not share all his views about Trump
These are from the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar who has been at the Downing Street lobby briefing.
Theresa May’s official spokesman says she has “full faith” in Sir Kim Darroch - so he’s staying put.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) July 8, 2019
He adds that it his job to provide his “honest, unvarnished” assessment of the US but that it does “not necessarily” reflect PM or Govt’s view.
PMOS says that if “any evidence of criminality” is found during course of Cabinet Office inquiry then the police will be involved. But won’t say whether leak has breached Official Secrets Act as doesn’t want to “pre-empt” inquiry.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) July 8, 2019
Has the UK apologised, for manner of leak if not the content? “As you’d expect contact has been made with the Trump administration to set out our view that the leak is unacceptable.” But doesn’t say whether Sir Kim himself has been in touch with White House.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) July 8, 2019
Downing St confirms that Northern Ireland bill today will *not* be pulled. “We’ve always been clear that the best outcome for devolved matters, such as abortion, is for the devolved Government and Assembly to take those forward.”
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) July 8, 2019
Brexit party leader Nigel Farage calls for 'realignment of politics on leave side'
Nigel Farage, the leader of the Brexit party, was one of the first people out yesterday calling for Sir Kim Darroch to be sacked following the publication of the Mail on Sunday leak. He was on the Today programme this morning repeating that demand. But, given the Brexit party’s strong showing in current opinion polls, what was more interesting was what he said about his desire to see a “a realignment of politics ... on the leave side”.
Here are the main points from his interview.
- Farage said he wanted to see “a realignment of politics ... on the leave side”. Talking about the forthcoming Brecon and Radnorshire byelection, where Plaid Cymru and the Greens have decided to stand aside to give their fellow pro-remain allies, the Liberal Democrats, a better chance of winning, Farage said:
The fact that the remain parties have got together virtually guarantees them a victory I would have thought in this seat. It’s a formal Liberal Democrat seat. It’s going to make it a very, very tough fight for us. And it gives leave voters a to think about.
In Peterborough the Brexit party was the contender against the Labour party, and yet quite a lot of people still voted Conservative, and because of that Labour on 31% won. So at some point in time what I would like to see is a genuine realignment of politics, not just on the remain side, but on the leave side too.
Farage was not pressed on this, and it was not clear what he meant by “realignment”. It could mean some form of Tory/Brexit party electoral pact. Or the Brexit party replacing the Conservatives. Or the Conservatives absorbing the Brexit party (which is what some Tories hope will happen under Boris Johnson, although you could argue that this will end up as a reverse takeover by the Brexit party). But the question is one that won’t go away. In an article for Politico today, Sir Vince Cable, the Lib Dem leader, says that the decision of the Lib Dems, Plaid and the Greens to cooperate in Brecon and Radnorshire is “a beacon of political pragmatism”, that the same thing could happen again in other contests, perhaps with the Lib Dems standing aside to help a pro-EU rival, and that this strategy “offers a roadmap for building an effective anti-Brexit front that can save our country from lurching towards disaster”.
- Farage dismissed the idea that he should be appointed ambassador to the US. Donald Trump suggested the idea in 2016, and there was some speculation yesterday that the Kim Darroch leak might be intended to create the opportunity for Boris Johnson to appoint Farage to this role (although the Johnson camp has dismissed the idea). Asked if he would accept the post if it were offered to him, Farage said he was “not a diplomat”. He went on:
I don’t think I’m the right man for that job. Am I the right man to try and help forge a better, closer relationship in terms of intelligence, security and trade with an administration that contains friends of mine? Yes, I could be very useful.
- He said that the civil service needed “wholesale change” because officials like Darroch were not sympathetic to the opportunities offered by Brexit and by having President Trump in the White House.
- He said he was trying to find some big UK industrialists willing to meet with Trump’s trade advisers to prepare a blueprint for a UK-US trade deal.
Photograph: Patrick Seeger/EPA
Updated
According to ITV’s Washington correspondent, Robert Moore, “almost everyone in this town [ie, Washington], even in the West Wing, shares [Kim] Darroch’s analysis of the dysfunction and chaos in the White House.”
Hunt rejects ambassador's view of Trump administration and calls it 'highly effective'
Here are the key points from what Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, said about the Kim Darroch leak at his press conference.
- Hunt praised the Trump administration as “highly effective”, saying he did not agree with his ambassador’s assessment. The Mail on Sunday published extensive extracts yesterday from a series of cables sent by Sir Kim Darroch, the ambassador to the US, over the last two years, but it headlined on a comment from 2017 about the administration being “inept”. Hunt said he disagreed. He said:
There are 13,000 people who work for the Foreign Office extremely bright, able, dedicated people. And we pay them as taxpayers to give us their frank assessment of the situation in the countries where they are serving, which is what our ambassador in Washington was doing. But it’s a personal view.
And there will be many people in this building who don’t agree with that view. And, indeed, I don’t agree with some of the views that we saw in those letters. I’ve said I think the US administration is highly effective and we have the warmest of relationships, and a partnership based on standing up for shared values.
And later he said:
I made it clear that I don’t share the ambassador’s assessment of either the US administration or relations with the US administration.
- But Hunt also said it was important for ambassadors like Darroch to be able to give “frank views” to ministers. He said:
It’s very important that our ambassadors and high commissioners around the world continue to feel that they are able to express those frank views. Because we have one of the best diplomatic networks in the world and the foundation of that is the free exchange of information and opinions, and the understanding that we are not always going to agree with each other, but we want to know what people around the world are thinking.
- He said he was “very concerned” about the leak because he wanted diplomats to be sure they could continue to give frank advice in confidence. He said he hoped the leak inquiry discovered who was responsible, and that if it did there would be “very serious consequences”.
Updated
Speaking at his press conference at the Foreign Office, Jeremy Hunt has said that he does not agree with everything Sir Kim Darroch, the ambassador to Washington, said in the cables leaked to the Mail on Sunday. But he has said that it is important for diplomats to be able to express their views frankly.
Foreign Sec tells me it’s important ambassadors and FCO staff around the world feel “supported” and able to have “frank exchange of views”. Defends Sir Kim Darroch’s right to make his comments, even though disagrees with his assessment of US administration. Leak is the issue.
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) July 8, 2019
Here are three foreign policy experts on the Kim Darroch leak.
From the historian Timothy Garton Ash
British ambassador to the US @KimDarroch is an outstanding diplomat who was simply doing his proper job. To shorten his term in response to a leak, as urged by Nigel Farage, would be pathetic, craven - and objective encouragement to future malicious leakers & Faragistes...
— Timothy Garton Ash (@fromTGA) July 8, 2019
From Edward Luce, the Financial Times’ US national editor
My "At home with the FT" with Kim Darroch, Britain's ambassador to the US, who is almost certainly victim of pro-Brexit/Trumpist forces for doing what he is paid to do. Farage wants Kim fired. How long before Britain's civil service loses all heart? https://t.co/9yyV1KKmTG
— Edward Luce (@EdwardGLuce) July 8, 2019
From the Economist’s David Rennie
I know reporters should welcome leaks, but this astonishing leak doesn’t reveal corruption or secret torture schemes. It just harms UK’s ability to influence Trump and kneecaps a v plugged-in ambo to US, @KimDarroch, targeted by leakers-I assume-for being insufficiently Brexity https://t.co/xD02F4W8c8
— David Rennie 任大伟 (@DSORennie) July 7, 2019
Liam Fox says ambassador who angered Trump should keep his job
Sir Kim Darroch, the British ambassador to Washington whose private views on the merits of Donald Trump and his administration were leaked to the Mail on Sunday yesterday, has attracted the wrath of the president. “The ambassador has not served the UK well, I can tell you that,” said Trump when asked about Darroch’s comments, which were actually relatively mild in comparison with some of the things that have said about Trump, and certainly in line with most mainstream European commentary on Washington. “We are not big fans of that man,” Trump went on.
But Darroch won the backing of the UK government this morning. Speaking on the Today programme, Liam Fox, the international trade secretary, defended Darroch strongly and insisted that there was no reason why he should now have to quit. And while Fox said that he would be apologising to the Trump administration for the fact that Darroch’s views were leaked, he indicated that he would not be apologising for what Darroch actually said. Here are the main points from the interview.
- Fox said the leak of Darroch’s memos, and even Trump’s criticism of him, would not stop him being able to carry on as the British ambassador. Fox said he knew from his widespread contacts in Washington that Darroch was held in high regard. Asked if Darroch would be able to remain in post, Fox said:
With the widespread contacts that I have in Washington and in the administration and amongst congressional leaders, [I know] our ambassador is held in high regard ...
It’s not a problem with the ambassador. This is a problem with the ethics of the individual who carried out this particular leak. If people start to want to leak confidential information - leaving aside whether or not it may be a criminal activity - it certainly makes it much more difficult to be able to have the bond of trust within which we can operate in an optimal way.
When it was put to him that Trump would find it difficult to work with Darroch in future, Fox replied:
Well, I think that who we have as our diplomats is of course a matter for us. And I don’t see, frankly, that this is an impediment to the ambassador being able to work in Washington.
- He defended Darroch’s right to give his honest assessment of the Trump administration, although he said Darroch’s views weren’t the same as the government’s. He said:
I do know that the views that that were in our newspapers [ie, in the Darroch memos] don’t reflect the views of the government. But that’s not the role of the diplomatic service. They’re there to make an assessment on a day to day basis. They send regular reports back. Obviously they vary over time. And they add colour so that politicians in London can get a feel for what’s going on elsewhere. The same will happen with the American ambassador reporting back to Washington.
- He said he would be apologising to the US administration for the fact that Darroch’s views were leaked, but not for what he said. He is due to meet Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, and asked if he would be apologising, he replied:
I will be apologising for the fact that either our civil service or elements of our political class have not lived up to the expectations that either we have or the United States has about their behaviour, which in this particular case has lapsed in a most extraordinary and unacceptable way.
- Fox described the leak as “unconscionable”. He said:
Malicious leaks of this nature are unprofessional. They are unethical. And they are unpatriotic. Because they can actually lead to damage to that relationship which can, therefore, affect our security interests. I think it is unconscionable that any professional person in either politics of the civil service can behave in this way.
- He said he hoped the leaker was caught and punished. He said:
This is such a damaging, potentially damaging, event, that I hope the full force of our internal discipline, or even the law, will come down on whoever actually carried out this particular act.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9am: Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary and Tory leadership candidate, holds a press conference to launch a report saying the government should be prepared to impose sanctions against countries that persecute Christians.
Morning: Theresa May gives a speech on the role of the armed forces at the Nato/UK military HQ at Northwood.
After 3.30pm: A Foreign Office minister is expected to make a Commons statement or answer an urgent question about the Kim Darroch leak.
3.45pm: John Benger, clerk of the House of Commons, gives evidence to the Commons privileges committee about contempt of parliament.
4.15pm: Steven Armstrong, chairman of Ford Europe, gives evidence to the Commons Welsh affairs committee about the closure of Ford’s Bridgend plant.
As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to publish a summary at lunchtime and then another when I finish.
You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.
If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter.
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