New Zealand has said it will replace its High Commissioner to the United Kingdom following comments he made about US President Donald Trump.
The comments by Phil Goff were “deeply disappointing”, a spokesman for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in an emailed statement on Thursday in Wellington.
“They do not represent the views of the New Zealand government and they make his position as High Commissioner to London untenable.”
Local media reported that Goff made comments at an event in London earlier this week that questioned Trump’s understanding of history, contrasting him with Winston Churchill in the lead-up to World War II.
“President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?” Goff reportedly said.
Former Labour prime minister Helen Clark said Goff’s rhetorical question did not appear to her to be a firing offence. She suggested the New Zealand government is “super sensitive” to the Trump administration, according to posts on X.
Goff took up the role of High Commissioner — the equivalent to ambassador within Commonwealth countries — in January 2023. He spent 35 years as a Labour Party politician, including leading the party to an election loss in 2011. He was also mayor of Auckland for six years through 2022.
Peters has “asked the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade to now work through with Mr Goff the upcoming leadership transition at the New Zealand High Commission in London”, the spokesperson said.