Britain's deputy ambassador to the US who stood in after Peter Mandelson was removed leaves his post abruptly following investigation over Iran war leak

Published: 08:44, 20 May 2026 | Updated: 08:50, 20 May 2026 Britain's deputy ambassador to the US has abruptly left his post as the country's second most senior diplomat. James Roscoe has held the role since July 2022 and stood in as acting ambassador after Lord Peter Mandelson was sacked over his links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. No explanation was given for his departure, but Mr Roscoe is understood to have been questioned about the leak of top-secret discussions at a meeting of the National Security Council, The Times reported. Details of the meeting, which involved a discussion over the US request to use British military bases at the start of the Iran conflict, were leaked to a journalist in March. Foreign Office sources said that senior embassy officials were among those questioned about the leak. Mr Roscoe, 49, had been one of the names tipped to take over from Lord Mandelson, after stepping up to fulfil his duties last year. The role was instead given to Sir Christian Turner, but Mr Roscoe retained his position as deputy ambassador. He played an important role in President Trump's state visit to the UK as well as King Charles III's recent visit to the US to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. James Roscoe pictured with his wife, actress and author Clemency Burton-Hill Mr Roscoe alongside Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper at the British Ambassador's Residence in Washington, D.C Mr Roscoe lives in Washington alongside his wife, actress and journalist Clemency Burton-Hill. The pair met while Roscoe was on assignment to the High Commission in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in 2006. Burton-Hill is also a violinist who has presented the Proms and Breakfast on BBC Radio 3. She also became the BBC's first head of music and arts. Before moving to Washington, Mr Roscoe was the UK ambassador to the United Nations and previously served as communications chief to the late Queen Elizabeth II. He had also been chief press officer in Downing Street for prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. Mr Roscoe's earlier diplomatic postings included the UN, Sierra Leone and Iraq. In a brief statement, a Foreign Office spokesman said: 'James Roscoe has left his post.' During the King's recent visit to Washington, Roscoe praised the monarch for helping to repair relations between the two nations 'The King … can draw out those things that really pull us together,' he told CNN, as he paid tribute to the 'incredible' defence and economic partnerships that 'bind the US and UK'. However, the visit was marred after his colleague's comments to visiting sixth-form pupils were leaked to The Financial Times. Christian Turner, Britain's ambassador to the US, pictured with King Charles yesterday as they attend a garden party in Washington DC Sir Christian was appointed as Britain's new ambassador to the US in December last year after Peter Mandelson (pictured) was sacked over his links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein Sir Christian played down the so-called 'Special Relationship' between the UK and US, saying America's only such connection is 'probably Israel'. In a recording of the remarks, shared with the Financial Times, the long-serving diplomat noted how the scandal had 'brought down a senior member of the royal family [Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor], a British ambassador to Washington, potentially the Prime Minister, and yet here in the US, it really hasn't touched anybody'. He also suggested that the Prime Minister could be 'brought down' by the row over his predecessor and pointed to the May elections as a potential breaking point. Sir Christian's remarks were said to have been made during a question-and-answer session with students on diplomacy and politics and were never intended as an on-the-record statement of Government policy. Sir Keir Starmer later insisted that he would not sack the loose-lipped ambassador - saying he was the 'least of my problems'. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.