How the Darroch scandal damages Boris
If the leaker who leaked the Darroch memos sought to help Boris Johnson, then their underhand plan has now spectacularly backfired. Boris has been badly damaged by the fall out and on taking office will have to prove to sceptical ministers and officials that he is not being operated by his friend Donald Trump.
Why? Britain’s ambassador to the US resigned today. Leaks of diplomatic cables in which he gave a frank (true) assessment of the Trump administration had made his position untenable, he said.
The resulting backlash at Westminster and in Whitehall today against Boris, over his handling of the Darroch scandal, has been something to behold.
One cabinet minister told me this evening that he has “never known people so furious” as they are over the trail of events that led to the resignation of Sir Kim Darroch. By “people” that minister does not mean general voters, or the mass of the public, most of whom are unlikely to be following the detail of a diplomatic row. He means officials, advisers, ministers and MPs working in an increasingly fractious Westminster and Whitehall.
Remember, the new Prime Minister on entering office barely has a Commons majority and a large group of Tory MPs are deeply sceptical about his ability to do the job. Boris needs all the friends he can get. Accordingly, at this point he should be building bridges and preparing to attempt a reunification – albeit fleeting – of the Tory tribe, while he needs the civil service to help him get to grips with running a government.
Critics will now say in the light of Darroch being done in by Donald, that in office the take back control mantra of the 2016 referendum will really mean “take back control and give it to Donald Trump.”
The timing is awful. Just when Boris is about to ascend (barring a miracle intervening) to the premiership, here comes the Darroch scandal – and it is a serious scandal – to amplify concerns about the frontrunner’s judgment under-fire. It looks as though his allies (or dark forces unknown) have plotted against a serving ambassador and secured his political assassination. When presented with this, Boris failed to defend the injured party or the elementary and vital idea that Her Majesty’s Government appoints our ambassadors, not here today and gone tomorrow foreign political leaders.
Incredibly, Boris does not seem to have organised a coherent response in advance of the ITV leadership debate on Tuesday evening. On air, the frontrunner was pressed several times to back Darroch as the serving ambassador. Appallingly, he did not do so, but after the resignation, when it was too late, he let it be known that he likes Sir Kim.
This is – and I’m using a technical term here – a “shit’s trick.”
It should have been possible for Boris to politely and firmly say that of course he backs a British official, and when the moment comes for a new ambassador to Washington then the British government – no-one else – will choose someone to protect the special relationship which is of course bigger than any individual, or some such blather.
Boris did not do the work, and the resulting spectacle – Darroch done in, and the future PM ducking and diving – is squalid and disgraceful.
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