The furore over Sir Kim Darroch's critical comments about Donald Trump have been polarised to such an extent that I haven't heard a sensible argument since the Mail on Sunday published his leaked missives. On one hand you have those saying that he in an embarrassment and has ruined the special relationship. Utter hyperbole. Then you have others saying that we shouldn't let Donald Trump dictate who our ambassador is and that Sir Kim should have stayed in post. The truth is somewhere in the middle.
Although I think that Trump has reacted to the news like a baby throwing his toys out of the pram, it was clear that Sir Kim could not remain in post. It had nothing to do with Trump dictating who our ambassador should be. Our man in Washington couldn't continue because trust had broken down.
There is also a huge amount of hypocrisy from Trump. I would love to read the telegrams from the U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. I bet he hasn't minced his words. If they were to be leaked, Woody Johnson's position would be untenable, too. It would have nothing to do with our Prime Minister effectively kicking him out of the country, and everything to do with him no longer being able to effectively do his job.
But there is also a huge amount of hypocrisy from many others - especially in the political class. In normal circumstances, if trust had broken down between a friendly government and the British Ambassador, the diplomat would have been quietly recalled. What we have instead are those who hate Trump jumping on the outrage bus desperately defending a diplomat they had never heard of until last Sunday. And then there are those who are strong Trump supporters who appear to be equally outraged that the British Ambassador to the U.S. could say such awful things about their man - even though they were private communiques.
Add into the mix those who hate Boris Johnson, you are left with overreaction after overreaction, and hyperbole followed by more hyperbole.
The so-called 'special relationship' between the U.K and the U.S has always been one-sided in favour of the latter. Of course we want good relations with our closest ally. But the idea that Sir Kim Darroch has somehow threatened the close cooperation between our two countries on issues such as security and defence, is ridiculous. And in a post-Brexit world, a trade deal will be agreed between our two countries if it is of mutual benefit.
I would also like to say that no matter who the Prime Minister of our country happens to be, and no matter what I think of them, they are still the Prime Minister. The office deserves respect. To attack Theresa May in the way Trump did, after she was responsible for his state visit just over a month ago, is disrespectful. She has, observing longstanding protocol, not waded into domestic U.S. politics. I know that at the invitation of David Cameron, Barack Obama tried to influence the result of the 2016 referendum, but that was equally wrong. I don't care who the U.S. president happens to be, when it comes to domestic politics in the U.K., they can keep their opinions to themselves.