LONDON • The suspect behind the leak of confidential memos from Britain's Washington ambassador, which sparked a major diplomatic rift with the United States, has been identified, the Sunday Times newspaper reported.

Last week, Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper published memos from Mr Kim Darroch in which he described Mr Donald Trump's administration as "inept" and "dysfunctional", prompting an angry response from the US President and causing the envoy to announce his resignation.

British officials have launched an inquiry to find the person responsible for the leak and counterterrorism police said last Friday they had launched a criminal investigation.

According to the Sunday Times, which cited unnamed government sources, a suspect had been identified and suggestions that it could be the result of a computer hack by a foreign state had been ruled out.

"They think they know who did the leaking," an unnamed government source told the paper.

"It's now a case of building a case that will stand up in court. It was someone with access to historical files. They went in and grabbed a range of material. It was quite crude."

Both the Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday reported that intelligence officials from the GCHQ spy agency were about to join the investigation to find the suspect by scouring e-mail and phone records.

REUTERS