Britain’s former ambassador to the US Lord Darroch blames Boris Johnson for his resignation

Britain’s former ambassador to the United States has attacked Boris Johnson, claiming he was partly to blame for his resignation after disparaging comments he made about President Trump were leaked.

Lord Darroch has claimed the Prime Minister helped force his abrupt exit from his role as the Britain’s most important diplomat when he was under attack from Mr Trump.

In July last year the Mail on Sunday revealed Lord Darroch, then Sir Kim Darroch, had described the President as ‘inept’, ‘insecure’ and ‘incompetent’ in a series of explosive memos.

In secret cables and briefing notes Lord Darroch warned London that the White House was ‘uniquely dysfunctional’ and that the President’s career could end in ‘disgrace’.

After the leak, Mr Johnson, then running for the Conservative leadership, repeatedly refused to say that he would keep him in post during a TV debate, in contrast to his opponent Jeremy Hunt.

In an interview with The Times, Lord Darroch said he later told Mr Johnson that he was in part to blame after the Prime Minister questioned why he had quit.

He said: ‘He sounded just like Boris Johnson sounds — starting and then restarting sentences. Very Boris. He said: ”But why did you resign? Wouldn’t it all have blown over after a few weeks?”’

In answer to Mr Johnson’s question as to whether the resignation was his fault, he told him that ‘in part it was’.

It comes as Mr Trump’s then national security adviser John Bolton claims the President ordered him to get Lord Darroch ‘out of here’ after the comments came to light.

Mr Bolton told The Daily Telegraph that after receiving the Mr Trump’s instructions he rang the Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill and told him ‘things are going to get worse unless you can figure out how to get him out’.