Donald Trump is continuing to threaten rejecting Lord Peter Mandelson as Ambassador to the US unless the UK Government accepts restrictions on his activities.
The Prime Minister is under pressure from the White House to bow to the demands or have their pick for envoy vetoed.
Sources close to the President said he is being reminded to reject the credentials of Sir Keir Starmer’s pick when they are presented to him.
However, a source told The Independent: “There’s also a possibility that they approve it conditionally. There would be a very short leash.”
Sources close to the President said he is being reminded to reject the credentials of Sir Keir Starmer’s pick when they are presented to him
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Mandelson has been a strong advocate of closer economic ties with China, even writing an article in 2018 warning that Trump’s antipathy to China was “putting free trade at risk.”
However, there were also concerns over Starmer’s stint in power, following Elon Musk’s attacks on the Prime Minister over alleged policing of social media in the UK and grooming gangs have had an impact.
Another source told the publication: “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.”
“It [Starmer’s Government] is perceived as anti-free speech by the incoming administration,” the source added. “That is a big red line.”
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Peter Mandelson has been appointed as the new ambassador to the USA
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Downing Street played down the concerns of rift between the two administrations, with Starmer saying he believes his Government can have “a constructive relationship” with Trump’s White House.
The former business secretary and effective deputy prime minister under Gordon Brown is set to take over from Dame Karen Pierce.
Starmer previously said that he believes that Mandelson has the trade expertise and networking abilities to bolster the UK’s interests during a delicate period for relations with the US, GB News has learned.
However, a different source has claimed that Labour would like to pull Mandelson and keep Pierce in place.
The former business secretary is set to take over from Dame Karen Pierce
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“But they are worried that if Labour pulls Mandelson, Labour will appoint someone even worse like Kim Darroch, Sadiq Kahn, or some far worse person,” the source said.
Pierce surprised many by attending an inauguration party held by right-wing UK and US politicians last week.
It is understood that she was a late addition at her own request and she was overheard asking guests what they thought of her replacement.
However, Downing Street played down the concerns of rift between the two administrations, with Starmer saying he believes his Government can have “a constructive relationship” with Trump’s White House.
The Prime Minister said “What matters to me is my relationship with the US and my relationship with the president-elect”, adding that he hopes to get a trade deal “of some sort” with the US during the Trump presidency.