The leaks were wrong... Sir Kim Darroch was not

The guilty parties should be named and shamed – or self-censoring might overwhelm diplomatic correspondence

Sir Kim’s observations are commonplace and nowhere near as shocking as the two books by Michael Wolff about life in the White House (Getty)

They’re unprofessional, they’re unethical, and they’re unpatriotic.

So says Liam Fox, who, for a change, is right. His verdict on whoever leaked candid emails from the British ambassador in Washington is that they are, to adapt a trendy turn of phrase, a stone cold villain.

The international trade secretary, in Washington for vital pre-talks on a prospective US-UK trade deal, feels more acutely than most the damaging effect the emails must be having on the “special relationship”. President Trump, notoriously thin-skinned, says Sir Kim Darroch has not served the UK well. This is harsh, if predictable.