Brexit: Foreign Secretary hits back at French diplomat who said UK influence in Washington DC had ‘vanished’
Jeremy Hunt reminded the ambassador about the bust of Winston Churchill in the Oval Office
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Your support makes all the difference.The Foreign Secretary has playfully hit back at a French diplomat who claimed Britain’s influence had “vanished” in Washington DC after Brexit.
Gérard Araud, France’s outgoing ambassador to the US, had said his UK counterpart had complained of being upstaged by the French in meetings with American officials.
Sharing a story about the comments, Jeremy Hunt tweeted: “Mon cher ami @GerardAraud I am sure you enjoyed making hay with the UK's temporary Brexit travails but until there is a French President's bust in the Oval Office we will not take any lessons in having good relations with Washington”.
Signing off with a winking face emoji, he attached a picture of Theresa May and Donald Trump posing next to the bust of Winston Churchill that adorns the US president’s office.
Mr Trump replaced the bust of the prime minister, which had been moved to another part of the White House by his predecessor Barack Obama.
Some social media users mocked Mr Hunt, however and reminded him of the existence of the Statue of Liberty – a gift from the French nation in 1886 that has become a symbol of the United States itself.
The claim by the French ambassador came on the same day as the announcement that Donald Trump would make a state visit to Britain in June, a diplomatic coup for Theresa May.
The prime minister was quick to seek close ties with the Trump administration when she came to office, putting her at odds with UK public opinion, and others including the Speaker of the Commons John Bercow.
But Mr Trump has been a fickle partner. Though the US president has welcomed Brexit and originally said he would offer the UK a “large scale” trade deal after it left, he has since cooled after the shape of the UK’s exit became clear.
In November he embarrassed Ms May by saying her Brexit plan meant the UK may not be able to trade with the US after it left the EU, and that it sounded “great” for the European Union.
The issue of a possible US-UK trade deal has been controversial in Britain because of warnings from trade expects that the US might insist on opening British markets to American food standards.
France has a mixed relationship with the Trump administration. While Mr Trump and Mr Macron have entertained each other as guests on visits to each others’ countries, the US president caused a diplomatic spat in November after he skipped a ceremony marking the centenary of the end of WWII.
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