Lord Peter Mandelson expected to be named next UK ambassador to US

The appointment would place Mandelson, a veteran politician and former cabinet minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, as Britain’s top diplomat in Washington as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to office in 2025.

The tenure of Dame Karen Pierce, the current office holder, is expected to come to an end at the start of 2025. Lord Mandelson had been widely tipped as the person next in line for the job. In November, the former MP for Hartlepool told the BBC that he would be “very interested” in giving advice on trade to whoever got the job.

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme, Lord Mandelson, 71, said he was “more in favour of a new relationship rather than a special one” with the US, and added: “Can I just make the point if you don’t mind: nobody has spoken to me about this job. “I read about it in the papers but nobody has actually spoken to me about it, so let’s put it to one side.”

Pushed further on whether he would be interested in the Washington role, the former government minister said: “I would be very interested indeed in giving advice about trade to whoever is appointed.”