UK lawmaker seeks police probe into envoy's leaked cables

Tom Tugendhat, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, has written to the Metropolitan Police Service, asking for a probe into the leak of the secret cables of the British Ambassador to the US.

British envoy Sir Kim Darroch had labelled US President Donald Trump as "inept," "insecure," and "incompetent" in the secret cables which were leaked to a UK newspaper. A UK government official confirmed the leak to CNN while declaring the information in the compromised documents to be true.

"I fear that we are developing a culture of leaks and that would be extremely detrimental to the United Kingdom. They damage our reputation, impact our ability to function effectively and undermine our relations with our allies," Sputnik quoted Tugendhat as saying during a House of Commons meeting on Monday (local time).

"I understand that the Foreign Office has opened an inquiry into this leak. I have today written to the commission of the Metropolitan Police to ask that a criminal investigation also be opened into the leak," he added.

UK Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt has dismissed Darroch's critique of Trump, adding that the UK will not allow "any interruption" in the "superb" US-UK relations.

Trump, meanwhile, lashed out at the British Ambassador, stating that the US "will no longer deal with" Darroch. He had also added that Darroch had not "served" his country well.

The incident could pose a huge headache for the UK, as it may jeopardise a probable trade deal with Washington after Brexit or UK's impending exit from the European Union (EU).