Leak of UK ambassador's US telegrams plays into wider power struggle

Sometimes leaks from within the government are striking not just for their content, but also for the motive behind them.

The content of telegrams sent from Washington by Kim Darroch, Britain’s ambassador to the US, and disclosed by the Mail on Sunday, is a case in point. The leak is also striking for what it tell us about the struggle for influence at the top of a Boris Johnson-led Conservative party.

The telegrams provide both a Michael Woolf-style assessment of the chaos inside the early years of Trump’s presidency and an unflattering – if not damaging – account of Trump’s own personality defects.

They also give some insights into how Britain seeks to maintain its influence in the White House by trying to “flood the zone” of opinion formers or outer circles of Trump’s advisers. Recent episodes such as the Trump team’s glowing assessment of the president’s state visit, and his tête à tête with the Queen, also get a mention.

Darroch appears dismissive of the president’s strategy towards Iran. While the material is potentially the most diplomatically sensitive, it is hardly surprising that the UK and the US do not agree on whether efforts should be made to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.

The issue over the past year has largely been how to contain that divergence of opinion so it does not expose other aspects of the special relationship. Trump however will be angry that Darroch does not believe the president pulled back from attacking Iran for fear of civilian casualties, an assessment that insinuates the president was lying.