A Cabinet minster has suggested he is confident that Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US will be approved by Donald Trump’s team.
There were reports in a number of newspapers on Sunday that the Trump administration could be considering not granting approval to Lord Mandelson’s new position.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones told the BBC on Sunday that Labour grandee Lord Mandelson was picked for the job “because we want to do things differently”.
Mr Trump will be sworn in for a second term in the White House on Monday, with Lord Mandelson’s outgoing predecessor Dame Karen Pierce expected to attend on behalf of the Government.
Asked on the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme whether he was “confident” that Mr Trump’s administration will accept the nomination, Mr Jones said: “Yeah. For the first time in, I think, maybe 50 years, this is the first time that a British Prime Minister has picked a politician to be the ambassador in DC.
“We have brilliant diplomats and Karen Pierce has done a brilliant job, but the reason the Prime Minister picked Peter Mandelson was because we want to do things differently.
“We recognise the important relationship between our two countries. There are lots of opportunities there on trade and the way in which our countries collaborate, whether it’s on technology, or on finance or on defence and security issues.
“I think Peter Mandelson will be a brilliant ambassador for us and will form a very strong partnership with the new administration.”
Asked about the same newspaper stories regarding Lord Mandelson while speaking to Times Radio, Mr Jones said he does not take the reports “very seriously”.
At the end of last year the Government announced that Lord Mandelson, who served in the cabinets of Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, would become the UK’s top diplomat in Washington DC.
Sir Keir Starmer said he was “delighted” to appoint Lord Mandelson and he will bring “unrivalled experience to the role”.
Number 10 defended Lord Mandelson’s appointment shortly after it was announced in December, after Chris LaCivita, an architect of the US president-elect’s 2024 campaign, called him an “absolute moron”.
Lord Mandelson had been critical of Mr Trump in the past.
Asked whether the remark indicated his appointment would be more problematic than beneficial for the UK, Sir Keir’s official spokesman said: “No … his appointment shows just how seriously we’re taking this relationship.
“He has got extensive foreign policy and economic policy expertise, particularly in the crucial issues of trade, business links. He’s got experience at the highest levels of government and it will be a significant asset in the UK’s relationship with the United States.”
