Ex Brit ambassador accuses Donald Trump of ‘peddling falsehoods’ over wiretapping claims as Boris Johnson is sent to patch up relations
Sir Peter Westmacott says 'gratuitously damaging' claims have power to harm our 'shared efforts to counter terrorrism'
EX-British ambassador to Washington Sir Peter Westmacott has slammed US president Donald Trump over “gratuitously damaging” claims the UK was involved in the alleged wiretapping of Trump Tower.
Writing in, Westmacott warned the allegations have the power to damage “precious” close ties between the US and UK which are “critical to our shared efforts to counter terrorism”.
The former ambassador accused the White House of “peddling falsehoods” GCHQ helped ex-president Barack Obama tap into Trump’s phones, adding the allegations could harm intelligence cooperation across the Atlantic.
The senior diplomat’s claims come as the Republican chair of the House of Representatives intelligence committee said he is yet to see evidence to back Trump’s claims.
A Republican member of the same panel also said the president should offer up an apology to the UK.
According to Westmacott, who stepped down from his role as the UK’s representative to Washington in January last year, failing to “set the record straight would be a gift to our enemies they could only dream of”.
The intelligence committee of the House will hear testimony from FBI director James Comey, and National Security Agency chief Admiral Mike Rogers, on Monday.
MOST READ IN NEWS
Both are expected to be thoroughly questioned about whether there is any evidence of wiretapping or any potential surveillance at Trump Tower as per Obama’s orders.
Trump’s claim that GCHQ conspired with Obama to tap his phones is also expected to come up in talks on Tuesday between British foreign secretary Boris Johnson and senior Trump aides.
Johnson has been sent to the US to attend a global meeting on defeating ISIS.
After talks with Trump’s senior aides, it is thought Johnson will meet with intelligence chiefs to discuss the scandal.
Calling on Johnson, Westmacott urged the foreign secretary to “make very clear that this is not a game”.
The row erupted on Thursday, when White House press secretary Sean Spicer cited an unsubstantiated report by Fox News commentator Andrew Napolitano that claimed Obama had used GCHQ to spy on Trump.
A spokesman for GCHQ has denounced the claims as “utterly ridiculous”.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368.