New Zealand sacks ambassador to UK after he questions Trump's grasp of history

New Zealand's foreign minister Winston Peters said on Thursday he had sacked the country's ambassador to the United Kingdom, after he made comments seen as critical of United States President Donald Trump.
Phil Goff made the comments at a forum in London on Tuesday that appeared to question Trump's grasp of history, contrasting the president's attempts to thaw relations with Russia with the actions of Britain's wartime leader Winston Churchill, who fought against Nazi Germany.

Mr Goff asked a question from the audience of the guest speaker, Finland's Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, in which he said he had been re-reading a famous speech by Mr Churchill from 1938.

Mr Goff quoted Churchill as saying to Chamberlain: "You had the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour, yet you will have war."

He then asked Ms Valtonen: "President Trump has restored the bust of Churchill to the Oval Office. But do you think he really understands history?"

NZ Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement that Mr 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.