Veteran diplomat chosen to replace Mandelson as new US ambassador
Britain’s new ambassador to the US will be Christian Turner, LBC understands.
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The veteran diplomat will be will be replacing Peter Mandelson who was forced to quit in September over his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr Turner is currently the ambassador to the United Nations and was previously political director at the Foreign Office.
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He brokered a close relationship with the new Labour administration before he left for New York.
Also in the running were Nigel Casey, UK envoy to Russia, and the Prime Minister’s business adviser Varun Chandra, who helped negotiate a string of deals with the Trump administration including on pharmaceuticals.
Mr Chandra was reportedly the frontrunner until Sir Keir was urged by the Foreign Office to appoint a career diplomat rather than a potentially more risky political appointment.
Britain's new top man in Washington top priority will be to mend relations with the US, which have become by Ukraine peace efforts and Donald Trump's criticism of European allies.
Mr Trump has distanced himself from Europe with his end to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which has included suggestions he would support Kyiv surrendering territory to Russia.
The White House's national security strategy is another source of tension in the UK-US relations, after Trump aides claimed that Europe faced “civilisational erasure”.
The US administration also questioned whether the continent’s economies and militaries were strong enough for countries to remain reliable allies.
Mr Trump's ongoing feud with London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan also continues to rumble on, with the president branding him a “disaster” and “disgusting”.
Earlier this week, it was reported that the US had halted talks on a technology prosperity deal struck during Mr Trump’s state visit to the UK.