Donald Trump is still threatening to reject Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s ambassador to the US unless the British government accept serious restrictions on his activities.
Sir Keir Starmer is being placed under increasing pressure by the incoming Trump administration to bow to the undiplomatic demands or face a humiliating and unprecedented veto on his pick for envoy to Washington.
A source in the Trump team has told The Independent the incoming president is still minded to reject the credentials of Lord Mandelson when they are presented.
But they added: “There’s also a possibility that they approve it conditionally. There would be a very short leash.”
The Independent revealed over the weekend that Mr Trump was considering the highly unusual move of rejecting Lord Mandelson’s credentials. No British ambassador in Washington or US ambassador in London has ever been refused in such a manner.
The biggest concern remains over Lord Mandelson’s support for close ties with China, fuelled by the UK Labour government being perceived as wooing Beijing following chancellor Rachel Reeves’s recent trip.
One Mar-a-Lago source told The Independent: “It seems that the Starmer government is trying to play a game where it sets China up as a fallback for a relationship with the US. Nobody is buying that here. It’s completely ridiculous but compromises the British government.”
Meanwhile, Downing Street has denied claims that there are splits among senior advisers in regards to Lord Mandelson’s appointment among Sir Keir’s senior advisers.
It had been suggested that chief of staff Morgan McSweeney had pushed the appointment and national security adviser Jonathan Powell had questioned it. But a senior Downing Street source this was “absolutely not” true.
Nevertheless, the UK embassy in Washington appear to be aware of the concerns regarding the Labour former European commissioner and cabinet minister.
Current UK ambassador Dame Karen Pierce surprised many by attending an inauguration party held by right-wing UK and US politicians on Friday evening. The Independent was told she was a late addition at her request and she was heard asking a number of guests what they thought of the appointment of Lord Mandelson to replace her.
Her appearance also gave rise to speculation that she had attended to prevent Lord Mandelson from going, because current and future ambassadors cannot attend the same event under protocol rules.
Lord Mandelson had been invited in an effort to allow him to meet some of Trump’s trusted inner circle and help build relations.
Trump’s inner circle have acknowledged that a rejection of Mandelson’s credentials would be “a humiliation” for the UK prime minister, who was not invited to the inauguration even though Trump has broken tradition by inviting several other foreign heads of government.
The row is linked to a wider context of strained relations between Sir Keir’s government and the incoming Trump administration, dating back to Labour sending 100 activists to help his Democratic rival Kamala Harris campaign during the presidential election.
Trump’s ally, tech billionaire Elon Musk, has also stoked a barrage of social media criticism against Sir Keir and his government over the far-right riots in the UK last summer and jailed activist Tommy Robinson. There are claims in the US that Sir Keir and his government are “anti free speech”.
Meanwhile, a number of senior Republicans are pushing for Trump to actively help Nigel Farage and Reform UK fight the next election in the UK.
The UK government has dismissed the questions over Lord Mandelson’s status as “speculation”.
