The UK’s deputy ambassador in Washington James Roscoe has left his post, a Foreign Office spokesman said, amid claims he is faces questioning following a leak of top-secret details
James Roscoe, the deputy to Britain’s ambassador in Washington, has abruptly left his role with no explanation yet given for his departure.
Roscoe, who served as deputy head of mission at the British Embassy since 2022, had been tipped to replace Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the United States after stepping in for several months after he was sacked last year.
The peer, 72, was removed from his position over his ties with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, sparking a crisis for Labour’s leadership over his appointment. He was dramatically sacked in September and had only taken up the post as the UK’s top diplomat to the Donald Trump administration in February 2025.
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Roscoe has gone too, and is understood to be facing questions over an alleged leak. Foreign Office officials declined to give the reasons behind the sudden exit, only confirming he had “left his post”.
He was tipped to take over the role full time before Sir Christian Turner was handed the job. The Times report that Roscoe will have to answer ‘intense questioning’ as part of a probe after secret discussions from a meeting of the National Security Council were disclosed. He has yet to comment on the claim.
The breach allegedly centres around comments from UK cabinet ministers regarding the war in Iran. Roscoe played a key role in President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK and in King Charles‘ recent visit to America.
In a brief statement, a Foreign Office spokesman said: “James Roscoe has left his post.”
Roscoe , who has had a long career in government and diplomacy, served as part of the UK mission to the United Nations for three years between 2009 and 2012.
The news comes after ministers were accused of putting “obstacles” in the way of the truth over Mr Mandelson’s appointment. One of Keir Starmer’s top aides was confronted by senior MPs who accused the Government of changing the goalposts over which documents it plans to release.
The PM has committed to releasing all relevant files and messages around the decision to name Mandelson as ambassador to the US.
Thousands of pages of documents will be published after the next Parliamentary recess, which ends on June 1. But ministers face calls to explain why some files have been redacted or withheld.
Darren Jones, the PM’s chief secretary, told the Commons that details such as junior officials’ names, emails, and phone numbers – and data about third parties – were rightly being removed. And he said raw data around vetting, such as bank account and relationship details, would never be released as this would undermine the process.
But Tory Sir Jeremy Wright, a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) – which is overseeing the release of documents – accused the Government of finding new reasons for withholding information. He said that while ministers agreed documents would be redacted to avoid compromising national security or international relations, other reasons are now being used to do so.
He said: “We cannot accept that the government is entitled to ignore or to unilaterally alter the terms of the humble address (the Parliamentary motion demanding the documents are released).”