Foreign and Commonwealth Office Permanent Under Secretary Sir Simon McDonald speaks to Tommy Newell about socio-economics, delivering Brexit and why “impartiality is vital to all civil servants, including diplomats”.

General Secretary Dave Penman tells BBC Newsnight's Mark Urban what Sir Kim Darroch's resignation means for the civil service.

“Sir Kim Darroch has been placed in an impossible situation, firstly by the leaking of confidential communiques and then by the failure of Boris Johnson and his supporters to provide unequivocal support," stated General Secretary Dave Penman.

"Diplomats are made, not born and the UK's interests are best served by a professional diplomatic service," says FDA General Secretary Dave Penman.

The FDA has criticised proposals to recruit UK ambassadors from the private sector after Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt suggested top diplomatic jobs could be opened up to business leaders after Brexit.