This archive report was first published on 7 July 2019.
Leaked emails from the UK ambassador to Washington have painted a damning picture of the Trump administration, labelling it as 'inept and insecure'.
Sir Kim Darroch, the UK ambassador to the US, described the White House as 'uniquely dysfunctional' and 'divided' under Donald Trump in the leaked emails, which date back to 2017.
Despite his scathing assessment, Sir Kim warned that the US president should not be written off, saying that his administration will remain self-interested, with Trump's publicly stated reason for calling off an airstrike against Tehran 'not standing up'.
According to the leaked emails, Sir Kim questioned whether the White House 'will ever look competent', adding that it was 'unlikely that US policy on Iran is going to become more coherent any time soon' due to the administration's divisions.
The leaked files also give an assessment of allegations about collusion between the Trump election campaign and Russia, saying 'the worst cannot be ruled out', although the investigation by Robert Mueller has since found those claims were not proven.
A Foreign Office spokesman defended the leaked emails, saying that diplomats are paid to provide 'honest, unvarnished assessments' of politics in their country, and that ministers and civil servants would handle this advice 'in the right way'.
