Monday briefing: ‘Inept’ Trump – and the Tory power struggle
Donald Trump has hit back after leaked memos revealed that the UK’s ambassador to Washington briefed Whitehall that the White House administration was “inept and dysfunctional”.
As a Foreign Office investigation begins into who leaked the confidential telegrams, Trump said Kim Darroch had “not served the UK well”. He added: “We are not big fans of that man … I can say things about him, but I won’t bother.”
At home, the sensational leaks were also helping to shed light on the power struggle within the Conservative party and who the next prime minister might appoint to the plum post when Darroch stands down, as he is due to, at the end of the year.
Farage, who boasts a close friendship with Trump, lobbied for the Washington job in 2016 and would benefit from the leak, according to our diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour.