Exclusive
Labour 'confident' Peter Mandelson will be US ambassador amid fears Trump 'could reject' Starmer's pick
19 January 2025, 11:28
A Labour minister has insisted that the government is "confident" that Peter Mandelson will be the US ambassador to the US, despite reports that Donald Trump could reject him.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Darren Jones told LBC's Lewis Goodall that he wasn't concerned that reports that Mandelson's comments about China could worry the incoming administration.
Trump, who will be sworn in as president on Monday, has "serious concerns about his links to China", according to reports.
Mandelson said in 2018 that Trump was trying to bully China, and has pushed for closer trade links between Beijing and London.
But Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said Mandelson would be "a brilliant ambassador".
Donald Trump will be sworn in as President of the United States on Monday, marking the start of his second term in office.
You can watch the entire event live on Global Player, followed by reaction and analysis from 4 pm.
"He's a senior and experienced politician, and we look forward to him being able to start his job in due course."
"President Trump and his team will recognise that, you know, we have put up a senior, experienced statesman which recognises the importance of our relationship, but also the opportunities to work together on areas, for example, in trade, which we know is of interest to the new American administration.
"And Peter Mandelson is very experienced in that regard."
For an ambassador take up their role, the head of state in their host country to has to accept the “letters of credence”, which in the US is the president.
As well as comments about China, Mandelson has also previously criticised Trump as "a danger to the world" in the interview with an Italian outlet.
It comes after a senior adviser to Trump said last month that Mandelson was a "moron" and criticised the UK for replacing current ambassador Karen Pierce.
Journalist Michael Wolff says that Trump has 'no interest in politics, only headlines'
Chris LaCivita, the co-chairman of Mr Trump's successful election campaign, said in December: "This UK govt is special replace a professional universally respected Ambo with an absolute moron - he should stay home!"
Announcing the appointment last year, Keir Starmer said: "I am delighted to appoint Lord Mandelson to be the next British Ambassador to the United States of America.
"The United States is one of our most important allies and as we move into a new chapter in our friendship, Peter will bring unrivalled experience to the role and take our partnership from strength to strength."
Reports have emerged of strained relations between the Trump team and Labour ahead of the inauguration, with Elin Musk, key ally of the president-elect, highly critical of Starmer.
Labour staff also campaigned for Kamala Harris during the election, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy was himself critical of the incoming president, although he is said to have worked to rebuild relations with Trump's team.
But Jones told LBC that the government was confident that the UK's relationship with the incoming Trump administration would be "starting from a position of strength" given shared values and interests.
He added: "Evidently there will be lots of opportunities to work together in the future on trade, not least in sectors such as technology and financial services and the great services that we export from the UK.
"The Prime Minister and President Trump-elect have already spoken about that in the discussion since his election. And we look forward to working with the new administration once they're up and running to see those opportunities based on the interests of the British economy and the American economy as well."
