Boris Johnson accused of throwing ambassador to US 'under a bus' after refusing to defend him from Trump

Reuters

Boris Johnson Donald Trump

• Boris Johnson is under fire from colleagues after Sir Kim Darroch resigned as the UK's ambassador to the US, following a public row with Trump.
• Darroch reportedly decided to resign after watching Johnson refusing to back him to remain in his post.
• Johnson's colleagues accused him of throwing Darroch "under the bus"
• The row came after confidential memos he sent about president Donald Trump were leaked to the press, labeling Trump's administration as "uniquely dysfunctional" and "inept"
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The frontrunner to replace Theresa May has been branded "contemptible" by his colleagues after reports suggested his refusal to back Sir Kim Darroch forced the UK's ambassador to the US to resign.

Boris Johnson on Tuesday refused to say Darroch should remain in post, after the US president tweeted a series of attacks on him as "pompous," and "stupid" and declared that the White House would no longer work with him.

Speaking during a televised leadership debate on ITV, Johnson also refused to criticise Trump for publicly insulting prime minister Theresa May, saying only that the president had been "dragged into a British political debate."

A senior ally of Mr Johnson told the Times: "We don't want to put the whole special relationship on the edge because of a row about one person. We do not have anything to gain from a running spat with the White House."

Johnson's refusal to back him, was key to his decision to step down, the BBC reported.

Darroch's departure triggered outrage among colleagues, some of whom are backing Johnson's rival the foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan accused Johnson of having "basically thrown our top diplomat under a bus."

He said that Johnson's refusal to defend Darroch was "pretty contemptible," adding that: "There are a lot of people here in the Commons who are very, very angry and feel he has lost so much respect for having done what he's done."

Conservative MP Sir Patrick McLoughlin agreed, saying: "It is unedifying to see someone who wants to be Prime Minister failing to stand up for hard working civil servants, who have done nothing wrong, under attack from foreign governments."

"Leadership involves standing up for your team. If we don't call out those who want a witch-hunt through the civil service we are complicit in creating divisions that may never heal."

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