A dossier detailing Lord Mandelson’s alleged links to China has reportedly been handed to the FBI and could further complicate his chances of being accepted as ambassador to the US by Donald Trump.

The memo, compiled using open source information from the Chinese web and delivered by US senators, is said to contain multiple examples of the Labour grandee’s links to the state and its top-ranking officials.

It is the latest step in a long-running furore since Lord Mandelson was picked by Sir Keir Starmer to be Britain’s representative in the US.

Downing Street rejected the details in the report, and insisted Lord Mandelson’s appointment would go ahead. A spokesman for Sir Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, said: “On that specific report, the Foreign Office don’t recognise the reports of a dossier.”

He added: “Whilst we do not usually comment on individuals, Lord Mandelson has made all relevant declarations as part of this process, and this ensures that steps are taken to avoid or mitigate any potential or perceived conflicts of interest.”

Lord Mandelson sits at a table with Chinese and Union flags and two co-signatories, wearing a serious expression

Lord Mandelson signs a trade agreement with China, as business secretary in 2009. Behind him, standing, are Wen Jiabao and Gordon Brown, then the premiers of China and the UK – Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty

The dossier, published in Australian media, includes details of Lord Mandelson’s meetings from 2013 to 2019 with Chinese officials and businessmen, who praised him for his “co-operation”.

The memo also notes that the politician was described as an “adviser” to a Chinese-headquartered global bank, something which is not listed on the House of Lords register of interests.

According to The Nightly, an Australian publication, the Chinese published photographs of a meeting that took place between Lord Mandelson and Huang Shuhe, the then deputy director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council in March 2014.

A read-out of the meeting posted on a Chinese website said Lord Mandelson “introduced the business situation of Global Counsel and the cases of co-operation with central enterprises”.

In response, Huang Shuhe said he “hoped that Global Counsel would continue to provide quality services for central enterprises to further enhance their international competitiveness”.

Huang Shuhe, front centre, is a senior Chinese figure named in the dossier – Alamy/Imaginechina Ltd

More recently, in 2019, Lord Mandelson met Zhou Yubo, then secretary of China’s ruling communist party’s committee and chairman of China Guoxin, an asset management firm.

A post on the Chinese web said: “Mr Mandelson … said that China Guoxin has established a good image as an institutional investor and that Global Counsel is very willing to strengthen the all-round co-operation with China Guoxin.”

In another example, Lord Mandelson was described as an “adviser” to the Chinese-headquartered global investment bank China International Capital Corporation (CICC).

In 2013, Song Yufang, the then chairman of China Railway Materials Corporation met the Labour peer and described him as an “adviser” of CICC.

He said he “hoped that Lord Mandelson would continue to pay attention to and support China Railway’s development in the future”.

This is despite it not being listed on the House of Lords register of interests.

The memo was prepared by Chung Ching Kwong of the Inter-parliamentary Alliance on China and was subsequently passed to the FBI.

Lord Mandelson, who is expected to arrive in the US in the coming weeks, told The Nightly: “I have had no business dealings in China.”

The peer found himself in hot water just hours after his appointment was announced last month, when The Telegraph revealed he previously described Mr Trump as a “danger to the world” and “little short of a white nationalist and racist”.

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That led Chris LaCivita, the campaign manager who masterminded Mr Trump’s presidential run, to call Lord Mandelson an “absolute moron”.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the Republican wrote: “This UK government is special. Replace a professional universally respected [ambassador] with an absolute moron – he should stay home! Sad!”

Lord Mandelson, nicknamed the “Prince of Darkness” during his time as a Labour spin doctor, insisted he had never held such views about the president, claiming he was merely describing the thoughts and feelings of British people.

Sources within the Trump team reportedly said it was still not certain the former Cabinet minister would be accepted by the president.

Previous reports have suggested Lord Mandelson’s perceived links to China, combined with his past comments on Mr Trump, now US president once more, could scupper his chances.

While Lord Mandelson has been confirmed as the UK’s choice for ambassador, he could still be rejected by the Trump administration.

The US could refuse “agrément” – the formal acceptance of an envoy by a host country – vetoing the nomination without explanation, under the terms of the Vienna Convention.

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