diplomatic service

Baruch, who was ambassador in South Africa a decade after the end of apartheid, resigned from the diplomatic service in 2011, saying he was no longer able to defend Israel's occupation.

Palmerston joined the diplomatic service in 2016 from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

In his four years as head of the Diplomatic Service, Sir Philip has served under five foreign secretaries: Dominic Raab, Liz Truss, James Cleverly, Lord Cameron and Lammy.

According to the email, his role was “Second Secretary Counter Terrorism” - understood to be a relatively junior rank, but one in which he described himself as “a subject matter expert in the domain of arms sales policy” after “a long career in the diplomatic service”.

He said he would send a request to the EU's diplomatic service to "start the necessary work related to the sanctions".