Lord Peter Mandelson to be UK’s next ambassador to US

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Lord Peter Mandelson, former Labour cabinet minister and EU commissioner, is to become Britain’s next ambassador to Washington, with an immediate mission to avert a trade war with Donald Trump.

Mandelson is expected to take up the post next month, according to UK government officials, in a remarkable return to public life after years working in the private sector with the Global Counsel advisory firm that he co-founded.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer picked Mandelson to succeed Dame Karen Pierce, who has served in Washington since 2020, and is known as “the Trump whisperer” for her close contacts with the incoming US president and his team.

Mandelson’s expertise in the field of trade — he was business secretary in Gordon Brown’s last government and held the EU trade portfolio in Brussels — will be crucial in the new role.

This is a developing story.