Conservative Party leadership candidate Boris Johnson gestures during a visit to Wetherspoons Metropolitan Bar in London, July 10, 2019. (HENRY NICHOLLS / POOL PHOTO / AP)
LONDON — Boris Johnson, who is likely to become UK prime minister within weeks, is denying he played any role in the departure of Britain's ambassador to Washington, who quit after coming under attack from US President Donald Trump.
Boris Johnson merely stressed his good relations with the White House and the importance of the trans-Atlantic relationship
Kim Darroch resigned following a furor over leaked diplomatic cables which labeled Trump's White House as dysfunctional, clumsy and inept. Trump branded Darroch a "pompous fool" and cut off the administration's contact with him.
Politicians including Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, Johnson's rival for the prime minister's job, criticized Trump's tirades and defended Darroch.
ALSO READ: UK ambassador to US quits days after leaked cables on Trump
In this Oct 20, 2017 photo, British Ambassador Kim Darroch hosts a National Economists Club event at the British Embassy in Washington. (SAIT SERKAN GURBUZ / AP)
But Johnson merely stressed his good relations with the White House and the importance of the trans-Atlantic relationship. Darroch resigned hours after Johnson made those comments.
Johnson told The Sun newspaper it was "bizarre" people were blaming him for Darroch's departure.
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