David Lammy's aide is accused of being 'anti-British'

A senior adviser to Foreign Secretary David Lammy has questioned how much people will mourn the death of Prince William, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The comment by Ben Judah, the Labour adviser who has been described as 'Lammy's brain', is one of a string of astonishing remarks he has made that the Conservatives have branded republican and 'anti-British'.

Mr Judah, who worked as an author and journalist before entering Government with Mr Lammy, wrote after the death of Queen Elizabeth two years ago: 'There have been tears for the Queen this week, but can we imagine the same for Prince William decades from now? Looking at him, I can't shake the feeling that he is just a West Londoner.'

Mr Lammy is facing a mounting whispering campaign within Sir Keir Starmer's Government over his future as Foreign Secretary.

The row over demands for slavery reparations from the UK, which dominated the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit in Samoa, is being placed at Mr Lammy's door by senior advisers in No 10.

He has also caused a headache for Sir Keir with past tweets about Donald Trump – who could be just ten days away from returning to the White House – that included describing him as a 'woman-hating, neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath' and 'no friend of Britain'.

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One well-placed source said: 'Lammy will be allowed a bit longer in the job, then someone more savvy such as [Northern Ireland Secretary] Hilary Benn will get the gig.'

In an article for the Unherd website in 2022, Mr Judah was also dismissive about the Commonwealth – to which Sir Keir has this weekend been paying homage at the summit in Samoa.

Mr Judah wrote about the Queen: 'We pretended with her and for her that the Commonwealth was real, that there was love and affection for her, or for us, in countries we'd conquered and lost, that we were still a great power.

'And if not an empire, then she ruled its heir. As she aged, shrinking into her clothes, it became clear there wasn't enough there, behind the insignia of government, to hold us up in the world.'

And about the King, Mr Judah said: 'The King is not a stupid man. 'Big Ears' of the tabloid press has spent his life knowing there is nothing sacred about him.'

Before he became Foreign Secretary, Mr Lammy, who is descended from enslaved people, gave Caribbean nations hope of succeeding in their demands for slave trade reparations by describing how his ancestors heard 'the twisted lies of imperialism as they were stolen from their homes in shackles and turned into slaves'.

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Last night, former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith condemned Mr Judah's remarks as typical of the Labour Left's 'anti-monarchist, anti-British and republican tone'.

Sir Iain told the MoS: 'Given David Lammy's own record in making ridiculous remarks, it should come as no surprise that he picked this adviser to assist him.

'These remarks are typical of the Labour Left. They despite the country they are in, its history and everything about it.'

Foreign Office sources defended Mr Judah, stressing how in an article in 2020, he had said 'Prince Charles will be a very good king'.

The sources also stressed that the Foreign Secretary was a supporter of the monarchy, and that only last week during the King's visit to Australia, Mr Lammy had tweeted: 'Growing up, my mother adored the Royal Family. Her late Majesty the Queen's life of service exemplified the values that unite our country and society.

'His Majesty The King continues that legacy of service.'

Last night, a friend of Mr Judah said: 'Ben wasn't being anti-monarchist – he was just asking how could anyone else reach the stature of the late Queen.'