New Zealand’s foreign minister, Winston Peters on Thursday sacked the country’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Phil Goff, after he made comments seen as critical of United States President, Donald Trump.
Goff was said to have made the comments at a forum in London on Tuesday, which appeared to question Trump’s grasp of history.
The comment reportedly contrasted Trump’s attempts to thaw relations with Russia with the actions of Britain’s wartime leader Winston Churchill, who fought against Nazi Germany.
“President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?” Goff asked during a panel with Finland’s foreign minister Elina Valtonen.
In a statement on Thursday, Peters said Goff’s comments were deeply disappointing.
“They do not represent the views of the NZ Government and make his position as High Commissioner to London untenable,” he said.
Goff, who is former foreign minister and lawmaker in the centre-left Labour Party, was appointed as ambassador to the UK in 2023.