The UK's top New Zealand diplomat was fired after commenting on President Trump in London earlier this week.
New Zealand's High Commissioner for the UK, Phil Goff, was fired from his role after questioning Trump's knowledge of history at an event hosted by international affairs think tank Chatham House on Tuesday.
“The ministry is in discussion with High Commissioner Goff about his return to New Zealand, and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Trade wrote in a statement sent an email to Hill on Thursday.
During the event on Tuesday, Goff He said so “After the Munich Agreement, we will reread Churchill's speech to the House of Representatives in 1938,” refers to previous wartime leader Winston Churchill. Multiple outlets.
“He relied on [former Prime Minister Neville] Chamberlain said: “You chose war or dishonor. You chose disgrace, but there will be war,” Goff said.
In that speech, Churchill condemned the British decision to sign the 1938 Munich Agreement with Adolf Hitler, and granted permission to parts of Czechoslovakia.
“President Trump restored Churchill's bust to an oval office, and I think he really understands history,” Goff said Tuesday.
Goff has been the UK's High Commissioner since early 2023.
A spokesman for New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters told Hill that Goff's statements do not represent the national perspective and made his position “unacceptable.”
“Phil Goff's comments are extremely disappointing,” a Peters spokesman told Hill in a statement. “They do not represent the views of the NZ government and make his position as London's High Commissioner unacceptable.”
“We have called on Foreign Trade and Trade Chief Bede Corry to work with Mr. Goff on our future leadership transition at the New Zealand High Commission in London,” the spokesman added.
The decision received some pushback from former top New Zealand officials.
“This looks like a very thin excuse to plunder the very respected former #NZ Foreign Minister from his post as British High Commissioner,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark I wrote it in my post on Wednesday Social Platform x.
“I recently attended a security conference in Munich, where many people are similar between 1938 and current US behavior,” she added.
Updated at 9:14pm on EST.
