Alexandra Hall Hall, the British
diplomat in charge of explaining Brexit to the US government, Congress and
public, ended her 33-year foreign service career saying she is no longer
prepared to “peddle half-truths” about Brexit on behalf of a
government she does not trust.
In her searing resignation letter
addressed to deputy ambassador Michael Tatham and dated December 3, she accused
politicians of a “reluctance to address honesty.”
“I have been increasingly dismayed by the way
in which our political leaders have tried to deliver Brexit, with reluctance to
address honesty, even with our own citizens, the challenges and trade-offs
which Brexit involves; the use of misleading or disingenuous arguments about
the implications of the various options before us; and some behaviour towards
our institutions, which, were it happening in another country, we would almost
certainly as diplomats have received instructions to register our concern.”
The 55-year old senior British
diplomat in Washington said her position had become “unbearable personally
and untenable professionally”.
Her letter, seen by US
broadcaster CNN, was said to have been shared widely with colleagues in the
diplomatic service.
The Foreign Office said it would
not comment on details of her resignation. Ms Hall is the second senior
diplomatic figure to quit the mission in Washington in dramatic fashion this
year.
On September 10, the UK ambassador
Lord Darroch was forced to step down amid a storm over leaked memos in which he
branded Donald Trump’s administration ‘inept and insecure’.
7, December 2019
Senior UK diplomat in US resigns over government Brexit ‘half-truths’ 0
Alexandra Hall Hall, the British diplomat in charge of explaining Brexit to the US government, Congress and public, ended her 33-year foreign service career saying she is no longer prepared to “peddle half-truths” about Brexit on behalf of a government she does not trust.
In her searing resignation letter addressed to deputy ambassador Michael Tatham and dated December 3, she accused politicians of a “reluctance to address honesty.”
“I have been increasingly dismayed by the way in which our political leaders have tried to deliver Brexit, with reluctance to address honesty, even with our own citizens, the challenges and trade-offs which Brexit involves; the use of misleading or disingenuous arguments about the implications of the various options before us; and some behaviour towards our institutions, which, were it happening in another country, we would almost certainly as diplomats have received instructions to register our concern.”
The 55-year old senior British diplomat in Washington said her position had become “unbearable personally and untenable professionally”.
Her letter, seen by US broadcaster CNN, was said to have been shared widely with colleagues in the diplomatic service.
The Foreign Office said it would not comment on details of her resignation. Ms Hall is the second senior diplomatic figure to quit the mission in Washington in dramatic fashion this year.
On September 10, the UK ambassador Lord Darroch was forced to step down amid a storm over leaked memos in which he branded Donald Trump’s administration ‘inept and insecure’.
Source: Presstv