No evidence leaked diplomatic email was a hack, says UK minister

There is no evidence that the publication of the confidential emails in which UK's ambassador to the US Kim Darroch criticised President Donald Trump's administration was due to a hack, a Foreign Office minister said Thursday.

Darroch stepped down as ambassador on Wednesday, saying it was "impossible" for him to continue in Washington. Prior to his resignation, President Trump said that the US would no longer deal with the British envoy and went on to describe him as a "very stupid guy."

The Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Alan Duncan told the House of Commons that he had not ruled out a hack - but said there was currently no evidence of one.

 

He added that the envoy still had something to offer and could be given a new role.

"We do not, at the moment, have any evidence that this was a hack so our focus is on finding someone within the system who has released illicitly these communications," Duncan was quoted as saying by the BBC.

The US president had branded Darroch a "very stupid guy" after confidential emails emerged where the ambassador had called his administration "clumsy and inept".

The minister also failed to rule out Prime Minister Theresa May appointing a new US ambassador before she leaves office on July 23, the report said.

Shadow foreign office minister Liz McInnes had asked if the Foreign Office would ensure a new ambassador to the US was appointed before the new prime minister takes office "so we still have at least one UK representative willing to speak truth to power in Washington".

Answering her question, Duncan said: "The next ambassador will be appointed in the usual way by the prime minister on the foreign secretary's recommendation, with the approval of Her Majesty The Queen."

On Wednesday, Prime Minister May told MPs in the Commons: "Sir Kim has given a lifetime of service to the UK and we owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. Good government depends on public servants being able to give full and frank advice.

"I want all our public servants to have the confidence to be able to do that, and I hope the house will reflect on the importance of defending our values and principles, particularly when they are under pressure," the outgoing premier said.

Minister Duncan said that Darroch "quite rightly" received the full support of May and the "entire Cabinet" prior to his resignation - and that the government "profoundly regrets" the ambassador's decision to step down.

"It is an outrage that a selection of his very professional reports back to London should have been leaked," he said.

"In an act of selfless duty, Sir Kim (Darroch) made the decision to resign in order to relieve the pressure on his family and colleagues and to protect the UK-US relationship."

Quoting some Whitehall sources, the BBC reported that

Darroch decided to resign after Johnson refused to support him during the Tory leadership debate on Tuesday night.

Johnson was asked repeatedly by fellow leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt whether he would keep Darroch in his post if he became prime minister, but refused to answer.

After Darroch's resignation, Johnson said he was "a superb diplomat" and whoever was responsible for the leak "has done a grave disservice to our civil servants".

Asked why he was not more supportive of Darroch, he said it was "wrong to drag civil servants into the political arena".