David Lammy was never a politician to mince his words. He has previously described Brexit as a "national tragedy", Donald Trump as a "tyrant in a toupee" and called out Italy's deputy prime minister for "old-school racism".
But in more recent times, in particular since he took over as foreign secretary last year, Lammy has faced multiple tests of his diplomatic skills. None tougher than having to carefully craft the UK response to the slew of contentious announcements now coming out of the White House.
The new US president has threatened to withdraw military support for Ukraine, announced tariffs against the US's neighbours, frozen international development funding and - attracting perhaps the fiercest criticism of all - said large numbers of Palestinians should leave Gaza while the US occupies the territory.
Much of it is a diplomat's nightmare. Lammy defends what looks like a deliberate effort not to overtly criticise Trump, denying in an interview with the Guardian on his way back from a visit to Ukraine that he is having to hold back from saying what he really thinks.
"Not really. I'm the country's chief diplomat, and being the country's chief diplomat is not always about searching for the best tweet or the most effective tweet.
"It is also the case that - just as I thought it was wrong of Liz Truss to struggle to explain whether she thought [Emmanuel] Macron was a friend or a foe - in the serious business of foreign policy one has to accept there will be differences in the democratic family. Those are quite different to authoritarian powers, those who I think are really acting in most mendacious and evil of ways.
This story is from the February 08, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the February 08, 2025 edition of The Guardian.
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