Editorial: Johnson wags tail, fearing US dog house

US Labour Secretary Alex Acosta became the 13th member of the Trump cabinet to quit. Photo / AP

EDITORIAL

Two resignations dominated the political week and their impact rumbles on.

The UK Ambassador to the US, Sir Kim Darroch, found himself smack in the centre of a transatlantic storm. Likely next British Prime Minister Boris Johnson failed to back Darroch in an ITV debate after the diplomat's cables describing US President Donald Trump as "inept", "incompetent" and "insecure" leaked.

And US Labour Secretary Alex Acosta became the 13th member of the Trump cabinet to quit. He was swamped by his handling as a state US Attorney in 2007 of the notorious case against well-connected billionaire and registered sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida in 2007 to charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution, in a plea deal reached after allegations he molested numerous girls. He served 13 months in jail, but was allowed out 12 hours a day, six days a week. to work in Palm Beach.

Last week, he pleaded not guilty to new federal sex trafficking charges in New York that accuse him of abusing dozens of girls. Prosecutors now also accuse him of witness tampering.

Epstein's book of contacts was a who's who of stars, business tycoons, royals and political leaders — including Bill Clinton and Trump.

The Epstein arrest, like that of music star R Kelly, can be viewed as a tale of wealth and connections unfairly shielding a suspect from consequences. But it's also a case where dogged reporting, particularly by the Miami Herald's Julie K. Brown, eventually helped hold the powerful to account.

What the Acosta and Darroch resignations have in common is Trump. The US President has an ability to rip into allies, tear up conventions, and to surround himself with questionable people.

Sir Simon McDonald, head of Britain's diplomatic service, said that in his 37 years in the Foreign Office he had never known the leader of an allied nation to refuse to deal with a UK envoy.

In firing off Twitter darts at Darroch — "a very stupid guy" — Trump also aimed a few at outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May. "I told [May] how to do that [Brexit] deal, but she went her own foolish way," he tweeted.

The incident suggests Britain is shivering in the political cold as it prepares to leave the European Union. Brexit means Britain's clout is leaking. It also means the country's divisions can be exploited and the impartiality of a senior civil servant questioned.

Johnson made sure he didn't cross Trump because a post-Brexit trade deal is all-important.

"The fact that Sir Kim has been bullied out of his job because of Donald Trump's tantrums and Boris Johnson's pathetic lickspittle response is something that shames our country," Labour foreign spokeswoman Emily Thornberry said.

Modern British leaders have prided themselves on a closer relationship with the US than other European countries. But Trump makes that particularly difficult even in comparison with George W. Bush and Tony "Poodle" Blair. Johnson risks starting life in No10 as Trump's pomeranian.