Sir Alan Duncan the Foreign Office minister has said there is no evidence that Sir Kim Darroch’s email was hacked over the leaked memo’s which caused a rift between Washington and Westminster.
Unfortunately, Sir Kim was forced to step down from his role as UK ambassador to the US, as who ever leaked the diptels (diplomatic telegrams) is the one, and only person responsible for the resignation.
Sir Alan told the House of Commons that he has not ruled out any hacking, but there is no evidence.
Sir Alan said, “We do not, at the moment, have any evidence that this was a hack, so our focus is on finding someone within the system who has released illicitly these communications.”
Sir Kim wrote a letter to Sir Simon McDonald who is the permanent under secretary at the Foreign Office.
He wrote, “Since the leak of official documents from this Embassy there has been a great deal of speculation surrounding my position and the duration of my remaining term as ambassador. I want to put an end to that speculation.
“The current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like.
“Although my posting is not due to end until the end of this year, I believe in the current circumstances the responsible course is to allow the appointment of a new ambassador.”
Sir Kim added, “I am grateful to all those in the UK and the US, who have offered their support during this difficult few days. This has brought home to me the depth of friendship and close ties between our two countries. I have been deeply touched.
“I am also grateful to all those with whom I have worked over the last four decades, particularly my team here in the US. The professionalism and integrity of the British civil service is the envy of the world. I will leave it full of confidence that its values remain in safe hands.”
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