- Sir Kim Darroch, the UK ambassador to the US who was forced to resign for describing President Donald Trump as “inept,” has been made a Lord.
- Darroch was given a lifetime seat in the House of Lords by former UK Prime Minister Theresa May.
- Darroch announced in July that he would resign ambassador in July after the publication of diplomatic cables in which he spoke harshly of the Trump administration, enraging the president.
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Sir Kim Darroch, the UK ambassador to the US who was forced to resign after calling President Donald Trump “incompetent,” has been made a Lord by former Prime Minister Theresa May.
May on Tuesday released her resignation honours list – a tradition of British politics where an outgoing prime minister grants honors such as knighthoods and peerages (which grant the title of “Lord”) to people of their choosing,
The list included Darroch, who will be given a life peerage, giving him permanent membership of the UK House of Lords, and the title of Lord.
Darroch became British ambassador to the US in 2016, under President Barack Obama. He continued to serve after Trump’s election – but was forced into announcing his resignation after a leak of his internal guidance to the British government provoked fury from the president.
In diplomatic cables leaked to The Mail on Sunday newspaper, Darroch describes the Trump administration as "inept" and "incompetent"
Read more: Kim Darroch resigns as UK ambassador to the US over leaked memos branding Trump 'incompetent'
Darroch called the Trump White House "uniquely dysfunctional," and spoke of "knife fights" among officials, and constant scandals that could "crash and burn" the presidency.
He also reportedly said Donald Trump was indebted to "dodgy Russians" and feared that he would attack Iran.
"We don't really believe this Administration is going to become substantially more normal; less dysfunctional; less unpredictable; less faction riven; less diplomatically clumsy and inept," Darroch wrote in one particularly damning cable, according to the Mail on Sunday.
The leaked cables prompted the wrath of Trump, who wrote in a tweet soon after the leak that he would "no longer deal with him [Darroch]," effectively ruining his ability to act as a diplomat in Washington.
"I do not know the Ambassador, but he is not liked or well thought of within the US. We will no longer deal with him," Trump tweeted.
As the furore intensified, Darroch announced that he would step down, though he did not give a date of departure. He remains in his post while the UK government searches for a replacement. He was already scheduled to leave the post at the end of 2019.
Trump later changed his mind about Darroch, but only following his resignation, saying he wished the former ambassador well after seeing a comment from Darroch in which he compared Trump to The Terminator.
