The Catch-up: Boris Johnson blamed for UK ambassador quitting

What happened?

The UK ambassador to the US quit today after row over leaked emails in which he described the Trump administration as 'inept'. Sir Kim Darroch stepped down after an enraged President branded him 'a very stupid guy' after confidential memos were leaked in which Sir Kim wrote: “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.”

Is it Boris Johnson’s fault?

The blame for Sir Kim's departure has been laid at Mr Johnson's feet after he backed Mr Trump in the row. Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan said Mr Johnson has “basically thrown our top diplomat under the bus to serve his own personal interests”. It is thought the final straw for Sir Kim came when Mr Johnson refused to support him during a TV debate with fellow Tory leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt.

How bad is it?

The leak of confidential memos is an extraordinary and hugely damaging breach of trust. The head of the Foreign Office Sir Simon McDonald described the leak as the “worst breach of trust” he had seen in his career, adding Foreign Office staff were “shaken”. He confirmed the police are involved in the investigation into the leak. Mr Trump’s refusal to deal with Sir Kim is unprecedented in recent history.

Read more:

Sir Kim Darroch resigns as UK ambassador to US amid Trump memo row (Evening Standard)

‘Kim Darroch's forced resignation as US ambassador is a disgrace’ (The Independent)

Boris Johnson and Donald Trump’s UK-US trade deal ‘will never happen’(HuffPost)

More than half of Yahoo users believe Sir Kim Darroch should not have resigned over his leaked comments about Donald Trump’s administration. The UK’s ambassador to the US stepped down the day after he was called “wacky” and a “very stupid guy” by the US President. Do you think he made the right decision? Read the full story and have your say below:

Emmerdale star dies after short illness

The actor Freddie Jones has died at the age of 91. The star of Hollywood films such as Dune, The Elephant Man and Firefox, he was most recently known for playing Sandy Thomas in Emmerdale until last year. His agent, Lesley Duff, said: “It is with great sadness that I can confirm the death of Freddie Jones. He passed away on the evening of July 9 after a short illness.” Read the full story here (HuffPost)

Robbie Williams: Taking coke made me want to kill myself

Robbie Williams has revealed he thought about killing himself during a dark time when he was “doing a lot of coke”. The former Take That star opened up about his drug abuse and mental health issues about his time living in a “dark” house in Primrose Hill with an ex-girlfriend.He said: “Two months in, I couldn’t deal with it any more. I thought if this stays with me I was going to commit suicide.” Read the full story here (Yahoo Celebrity UK)

Police have made a renewed appeal in their hunt for three violent robbers who pinned down a terrified jewellery store worker in north London. The three men stormed the store in Haringey in April, assaulting a female employee before smashing their way out of the shop with trays of jewels. (Yahoo News UK Video)

£3.1bn

That’s the cost of the UK's most powerful warship which returned early from sea trials after springing a leak. The water was pumped out of the aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, which returned to Portsmouth as a precautionary measure. The latest problem follows a number of other issues including a shaft seal leak which caused water to pour into the ship, and the accidental triggering of the sprinklers in the hangar Read the full story here (Evening Standard)