British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday appointed a senior career diplomat as envoy to the EU to replace an ambassador who quit with a scathing resignation letter that exposed frustration among officials over her strategy.
Tim Barrow, political director at the British Foreign Office, is to take up the post next week following the abrupt departure of Ivan Rogers, who told staff in his resignation letter they should “speak the truth to those in power.”
The implicit criticism of the government’s approach in Rogers’ letter put a rare strain on rules that shield the politically neutral civil service from elected leaders.
Photo: EPA
The selection of Barrow, a 30-year veteran diplomat, could disappoint some Brexit campaigners who would like to see a known euroskeptic in the post. However, it could help reassure Britain’s cadre of civil servants that their expertise is still valued.
Barrow, a former ambassador to Moscow who served earlier in his career as first secretary at Britain’s embassy in Brussels, is not known to have taken a strong public position on Brexit.
In a statement released by May’s Downing Street office, he said he looked forward to joining the new government department tasked with overseeing the exit from the EU, “to ensure we get the right outcome for the United Kingdom as we leave the EU.”
Downing Street described him as “a seasoned and tough negotiator, with extensive experience of securing UK objectives in Brussels.”
May intends to launch the two-year process of negotiating to leave the bloc by the end of March, beginning what is expected to be some of the most complicated international talks Britain has engaged in since World War II. She has so far said little publicly about Britain’s negotiating position, arguing that to do so would weaken London’s hand in talks.
Her political opponents say the government underestimates the task and has failed to take into account the position of European leaders, who say they will not give Britain access to the EU free-trade zone if it closes its borders to EU citizens.
In his undiplomatically worded resignation letter, Rogers said May’s negotiating objectives were as yet unknown.
He told his staff: “I hope you will continue to challenge ill-founded arguments and muddled thinking.”
May’s opponents said his departure would deprive Britain of crucial expertise about Europe at the time when it was needed most. However, Brexit supporters described his comments as sour grapes and said he should be replaced by someone who was more positive about Britain’s prospects outside the EU.
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