A leak, a leadership race and a lame-duck prime minister expose the weaknesses of Brexit Britain’s diplomacy
HAVING THE current foreign secretary and his predecessor locked in a battle to be prime minister makes this an awkward time for Britain’s Foreign Office. To make matters worse, it now has to hunt for the mole responsible for a deeply embarrassing leak of dispatches from the country’s ambassador to Washington, Sir Kim Darroch.
Unsurprising as these views may be, their leaking is deeply damaging, and has set off a hunt for the mole and speculation on the motive. Frank, confidential assessments of the countries where they serve is core to diplomats’ job; if fear of leaks leads to self-censorship their work will be worth little. That the Darroch files emerged through a journalist, Isabel Oakeshott, who is a well-known Brexiteer has naturally fed theories that this is all part of the battle over Brexit.
The blip in Britain’s “special relationship” with one superpower comes as its supposed “Golden Era” in relations with another, China, is looking distinctly tarnished. Tensions over the recent demonstrations in Hong Kong are the latest in a series of irritations that include policies towards Huawei, a Chinese telecoms giant, and maritime rights in the South China Sea.
Mr Hunt’s real current obsession is vying with his predecessor as foreign secretary, Mr Johnson, for the role of Conservative Party leader, and hence prime minister. That creates an incentive for him to make headlines, whether over Hong Kong or sanctions enforcement with Iran. It does not necessarily make for effective foreign policy.
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