Jon Benjamin, the former British High Commissioner to Ghana, has been fired after a video of him pointing a gun at his staff was posted on social media, according to a report by dailymail.co.uk.
The British media outlet shared a five-second video clip that shows Benjamin pointing an assault rifle at his staff while sitting in the front of a car. The incident happened during an official trip to Durango and Sinaloa, two states in northern Mexico that are known for drug cartel violence.
The video clip is thought to have been shared on social media by unhappy local employees of the British embassy in Mexico City who were not happy with how they were treated. In the video, the British diplomat is seen pointing a gun at his staff and smiling.
The video had a caption that said, “In the context of daily killings in Mexico, he dares to joke.”
Another post said, “The British Embassy in Mexico has a history of hiding things from the public, including how Jon Benjamin’s attitude of being above everything has resulted in the systematic harassment of Mexican staff.”
The British Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office said in a statement that it knows about the incident and has taken the right steps to deal with it.
“We are aware of this incident and have taken appropriate action. Where internal issues do arise, the FCDO has robust HR processes to address them,” parts of the statement said.
Jon Benjamin was the British High Commissioner to Ghana from 2014 to 2017. He has been the British Ambassador to Mexico since 2021 and has also worked as the country’s top diplomat in Chile, Turkey, Indonesia, and the United States during his 35-year career in the diplomatic service.
