As a lifelong diplomat, it was probably the closest Sir Simon McDonald, the head of the UK diplomatic service, has ever come to publicly showing a sliver of emotion, when speaking to MPs today about the resignation of the Sir Kim Darroch.
The head of the diplomatic service had been summoned by the Foreign Affairs Select Committee to discuss the leaking of sensitive diplomatic cables to the Mail on Sunday, which were highly critical of the US President Donald Trump. Shortly before the committee, Sir Kim Darroch announced his shock resignation.
McDonald began the hearing by explaining that Darroch had left his post for two reasons: the pressure on his family, who he felt would be a target as long as he remained in the US, and the fact that the work of the entire diplomatic mission would be compromised if he remained in post, considering that Donald Trump had effectively barred him from the White House.
In 37 years working at the Foreign Office, McDonald said he had never seen anything like the spat between Donald Trump and the UK ambassador to Washington, and it was a ‘personal tragedy’ that Darroch had been forced to resign.
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