A bombshell from across the pond. Donald Trump has installed Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. The move, announced late last night, has sent shockwaves through Whitehall.
Sources tell me MI6 is deeply uneasy. Pulte, a Trump loyalist with no intelligence background, is seen as a political enforcer. He ran the President's social media operation.
Now he oversees the CIA, NSA, and the entire US spy apparatus. This is a purge, pure and simple. The previous acting DNI, Richard Grenell, was a Trump loyalist too, but he at least had diplomatic experience.
Pulte is different. He is a pugilist. His appointment signals a further politicisation of intelligence.
UK officials are privately aghast. They fear the 'Five Eyes' intelligence sharing arrangement could be compromised. Trust is the currency of that relationship.
Pulte's rise erodes it. Labour frontbenchers are demanding a statement from the Foreign Secretary. 'We need assurances that our intelligence co-operation is secure,' one told me.
The optics are terrible. Trump fires one loyalist, appoints another, all without Senate confirmation. It looks like a banana republic.
The White House calls it 'streamlining.' The reality is darker. This is about control.
Trump wants intelligence that tells him what he wants to hear. That is dangerous. Our allies know it.
The question is how robust the UK's response will be. Senior civil servants are already drafting contingency plans. They are preparing for a world where US intelligence is no longer reliable.
That is a profoundly unsettling thought. But it is the new normal. Downing Street is staying quiet for now.
They are hoping this blows over. It won't.
