8:24 am today
The UK embassy in Washington.
Britain's second-most senior diplomat in Washington, James Roscoe, has left his post abruptly without any public explanation for his departure.
The UK's foreign ministry issued a short six-word statement: "James Roscoe has left his post".
According to The Times newspaper, Roscoe was facing questions about how details of a top-secret national security meeting to discuss a US request to use British militarybases at the start of the Iran war were leaked to a journalist.
