London: Donald Trump's White House is "uniquely dysfunctional" and "inept", according to a cache of scathing leaked memos from the UK's ambassador in Washington.

The documents detail Sir Kim Darroch's assessments of the Trump administration from 2017 to the present - and could prove highly embarrassing for Britain's Foreign Office.

But officials insisted the relationship with the White House could withstand the "mischievous behaviour" of the leak and defended Sir Kim's candid style.

The diplomatic memos, obtained by British tabloid the Mail on Sunday, suggest that in order to communicate with the president "you need to make your points simple, even blunt".