The former cabinet minister and Brussels commissioner is a consummate political networker and his appointment will be seen by supporters as a masterstroke.
But he has also been one of the most divisive figures in British politics over many years and his appointment will be seen by Labour left-wingers as an act of cronyism by the PM.
Lord Mandelson had to resign from Tony Blair‘s cabinet twice, first over an undeclared bank loan and then over intervening in a passport application by a top Indian businessman.
A plum job
The Washington role, seen as the most glittering diplomatic post in the UK government, is due to become vacant when current ambassador Karen Pierce steps down early next year.
The perks of the job include the luxurious ambassador’s residence in Massachusetts Avenue, a magnificent Queen Anne mansion designed by top architect Sir Edwin Lutyens.
Lord Mandelson’s appointment is the first political rather than diplomatic appointment to Washington since Peter Jay, former prime minister James Callaghan’s son-in-law, in 1977.
Image: Mandelson alongside Tony Blair and Bill Clinton in Northern Ireland in 2000
Farage among big name backers
Sir Keir is said by insiders to believe he has the trade experience and networking abilities to boost UK interests in the US during the tricky period of a Trump second presidency – with the prospect of tariffs looming.
Crucially, he has become a close ally of Sir Keir’s new chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and is backed by Foreign Secretary David Lammy. It is claimed Lord Mandelson was seen in the Foreign Office last week.
And significantly, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, just back from talks with Trump allies, has said Lord Mandelson is “a very clever man” who can “master his brief” and would be “respected” by the president-elect’s team.
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The cap on a high-profile career
His appointment is not a total surprise. For the past month, he has been seen by Labour insiders as the clear frontrunner on a shortlist of four, also including former foreign secretary David Miliband.
The others were Baroness Ashton, also a former senior Brussels official, and Baroness Amos, a former international development secretary under Mr Blair.
Mr Miliband’s name was touted by Sue Gray, Sir Keir’s now ousted chief of staff, while Baronesses Amos and Ashton, who have strong links to the Democrats, were seen as a good fit if Kamala Harris had won the presidential election.
For Lord Mandelson, the appointment is likely to cap a high-profile political career which began as a TV producer and then Labour’s director of communications under Neil Kinnock in 1985.
Image: Mandelson was a speechwriter for former Labour leader Neil Kinnock
‘A fighter, not a quitter…’
He was seen as a brilliant if ruthless spin doctor, who masterminded the birth of New Labour but would berate newspaper editors when unfavourable stories were written by their political journalists.
He became MP for Hartlepool in 1992 and helped propel Mr Blair to the leadership of the party after John Smith’s death in 1994, a move that led to a bitter feud with Gordon Brown.
Then he got his first cabinet job, trade and industry secretary, in 1998, but was forced to quit months later after failing to declare a home loan from Labour millionaire Geoffrey Robinson to his building society.
He bounced back as Northern Ireland secretary in 1999, but was forced to resign a second time over claims he helped businessman Srichand Hinduja with an application for UK citizenship.
When he held his seat in Hartlepool in the 2001 general election, he made a passionate and defiant victory speech in which he declared: “I’m a fighter, not a quitter.”
Image: Mandelson was MP for Hartlepool from 1992 until 2004
…until he was
Yet three years later he did quit as an MP, when he became a trade commissioner in Brussels, which supporters in his new post claim gave him vital experience in trade talks with president-elect Trump.
But in his most spectacular political comeback until now, in 2008 his old foe Gordon Brown, by now prime minister but facing challenges to his leadership, brought him back as business secretary with a peerage.
A year later Mr Brown awarded him the grand title, previously held by Michael Heseltine under John Major, of first secretary of state, a position he held until Labour’s election defeat in 2010.
Image: Mandelson was brought back into the fold by Gordon Brown ahead of the 2010 election
Blair’s famous quote
But he was very much a Blairite rather than a soulmate of Mr Brown. And in the run-up to Sir Keir’s election victory this year he was back in the fold, offering advice on campaigning and policy.
Acknowledging that Mr Mandelson was a controversial and divisive figure, Mr Blair declared in 1996: “My project will be complete when the Labour Party learns to love Peter Mandelson.”
Clearly the current Labour leadership loves him sufficiently to hand him this plum job, though many on the left of the party will be furious about his appointment.
He was expected to be deported, but instead of being handed over to immigration officials he was released from HMP Chelmsford on Friday.
He spent just under 48 hours at large before he was apprehended.
The accidental release sparked widespread alarm and questions over how a man whose crimes sparked protests in Epping over the use of asylum hotels was able to be freed.
Ms Mahmood said: “Last week’s blunder should never have happened – and I share the public’s anger that it did.”
Image: Anti-asylum demonstrators in Epping, Essex. Pic: PA
On Sunday, Justice Secretary David Lammy said an exclusive Sky News interview will be used as part of an independent inquiry into the mistaken release.
Speaking to Sky’s national correspondent Tom Parmenter, a delivery driver who spoke to Kebatu at HMP Chelmsford described him as being “confused” as he was being guided to the railway station by prison staff.
The migrant is said to have returned to the prison reception four or five times before leaving the area on a train heading to London.
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‘My family feels massively let down’
Mr Lammy, who put Kebatu’s release down to human error, said he ordered an “urgent review” into the checks that take place when an offender is released from prison, and new safeguards have been added that amount to the “strongest release checks that have ever been in place”.
Image: Waves splash in Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Melissa hits. Pic: AP
Andrew Tracey had been due to fly home to the UK on Monday, but his flight was cancelled.
Mr Tracey told Sky News that food packages were being delivered to guests at his hotel. Deck chairs have been removed from the beach, and the swimming pools have been drained, at the Negril hotel where he is staying.
“The balcony and walls do feel as though they are vibrating just due to the strength of the wind,” said Mr Tracey.
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“I’m very nervous, it’s hard to comprehend what we are likely to expect.”
The US National Hurricane Centre in Miami said that Melissa was “one of the most powerful hurricane landfalls on record in the Atlantic basin” as it hit southwestern Jamaica near New Hope.
Image: People walk along a road during the passing of Hurricane Melissa in Rocky Point, Jamaica, on Tuesday. Pic: AP
In a social media post, the centre warned that it is an “extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation” – and told those in the area not to leave their shelter as the eye of the storm passes over.
‘It is a bit scary, but we’ve got each other’
A British-Jamaican couple who are sheltering inside as the storm passes over the island spoke to Sky News about their ordeal.
Shantell Nova Rochester and her Jamaican fiance Denva Wray are due to get married on the island next month.
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Floods tear through parts of Jamaica
They spoke of broken windows and water coming in where they are staying, but the couple believe they are “as safe as they can possibly be” in St Elizabeth.
Mr Wray said: “Where we are is quite strong, sturdy, but you can hear a lot of wind. It is a bit scary, but we’ve got each other, so we are strong.”
Asked about the wedding, Ms Rochester said: “We’re just worried about getting through tomorrow, but that’s a worry in the back of our heads.
“Where we plan to get married is flooded at this time.”
Government action ‘too late’ – British tourist
One British man who paid £3,500 for last-minute flights so he and his family could return home before the hurricane hit the island said that he felt “completely let down” by the government’s response.
David Rowe and his family, from Hertfordshire, had spent 10 days in Jamaica before deciding to fly back to the UK on Saturday.
Mr Rowe, 47, was critical of the response of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
Image: David Rowe with his wife Abby, daughter Cora, eight, and son Ethan, 12, during their holiday in Jamaica. Pic: PA/handout
Speaking to the PA news agency, IT manager Mr Rowe said: “It’s all too late, their reaction and their response to the storm has been too late – after the fact.
“The advice should have been last week, like on the Saturday – don’t travel – because a lot of the travel companies use the FCDO guidance on travel (for) all their planning and what decisions they make as an organisation.
“There should have been something done much sooner than this. A lot of the UK nationals, and people on holiday there, they are stranded.
“This could have been prevented with better action from the UK government.”
Mr Rowe added that he and his wife had felt “very anxious” before they flew home – and “very sad” for those left in the country.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We understand how worrying developments in Jamaica are for British nationals and their families.
“Our travel advice includes information about hurricane season, which runs from June to November. Last Thursday we updated our travel advice for Jamaica to include a warning about Tropical Storm Melissa and that it was expected to intensify over the coming days.
“The safety and security of British nationals is our top priority, and that is why we are urging any British nationals in Jamaica to follow the guidance of the local authorities and register their presence with us to receive updates.”
The government’s decision to slash foreign aid will lead to unrest, further crises and threaten UK security, a group of cross-party MPs has warned.
A report by the International Development Committee found the decision in February to reduce aid to 0.3% of gross national income (GNI) by 2027/28 – coupled with the US cutting its aid budget – is having a severe impact.
The foreign aid budget was cut to invest in defence from 0.5% of GNI, which was meant to be an interim reduction from 0.7% to cope with economic challenges caused by the pandemic.
Total aid spending is set to reduce from £14.1bn in 2024 to £9.4bn by 2028/29.
The committee, chaired by Labour MP Sarah Champion, said spending is being prioritised on humanitarian aid over development, which “builds long-term resilience and should lead to reducing the need for humanitarian aid”.
They said the international development minister, Baroness Chapman, has made it clear “the UK will remain a leading humanitarian actor”.
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But the committee said while they are glad those in “desperate need of aid will be prioritised, particularly in the regions of Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan”, they are concerned about the long-term effect of pulling development aid.
“We are concerned that slashing development aid will continue to lead to unrest and further crises in the future, presenting a threat to UK security,” the MPs said.
Image: David Lammy, when he was foreign secretary, on a visit to Chad to see how aid agencies are dealing with the humanitarian crisis. Pic: PA
Risk to UK’s national security
They said a reduction in foreign aid will have “devastating consequences across the world”.
The committee said it recognises an increase in defence spending is needed, but “to do this at the expense of the world’s most vulnerable undermines not only the UK’s soft power, but also its national security”.
They said the government must make “every effort” to return to spending 0.5% of GNI on foreign aid “at a minimum, as soon as possible”.
The committee also found long-term funding for development is “essential” to ensure value for money is achieved.
However, they accused the government of seeing value for money only in terms of the taxpayer, saying that downplays “equity and the importance of poverty reduction” and causes tension.
They agreed accountability to the taxpayer is “key to reducing poverty globally, and maximising the impact of each pound to do so, must remain the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s central tenet for official development assistance spending”.
Image: A Foreign Office team member helping evacuees in Cyprus in 2023. File pic: Reuters
Spending on migrant hotels
Spending on migrant hotels in the UK was also criticised by the MPs, who said while international aid rules mean they can cover refugee hosting for the first 12 months in the UK, given the recent cuts, that is “incompatible with the spirit” of the UN’s OECD Development Assistance Committee rules.
“Excessive spend on hotel costs is not an effective use of development budget,” they said.
The committee recommended costs of housing refugees should be capped “at a fixed percentage” of total foreign aid spending “to protect a rapidly diminishing envelope of funding”.
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‘Short-sighted’
Reacting to the report, Timothy Ingram, head of UK advocacy at WaterAid, said: “The UK government’s decision to cut the aid budget was one that defied both logic and humanity. Aid when delivered effectively in partnership with local communities is not charity – it’s an investment in a safer and more prosperous world.
“Undermining it, especially vital finance for water, weakens the world’s resilience to climate shocks, pandemics, and conflict – impacting the one in 10 people without access to clean water, and ultimately making us all less safe.
“This is a short-sighted political decision with long-term consequences for the UK’s stability, economy and global standing. We join with MPs in urging the government, once again, to urgently reconsider.”
Lack of transparency over private contractors’ spending
In the report, MPs said it is worried the Foreign Office has not reviewed aid spending on multilateral organisations, which allows the UK less direct influence over spending, such as the World Bank or vaccine organisation Gavi since 2016, despite spending nearly £3bn on them in 2024.
They said the use of private contractors does not offer inherently poor value for money, but a lack of transparency and data can mean under-delivering and a loss of “in-house” expertise.
Image: Palestinians carry aid supplies that entered Gaza. Pic: Reuters
‘Tragic error’
Sarah Champion, chair of the International Development Committee, said: “Ensuring aid delivers genuine value for money has never been more important. As major donors tighten their belts, we have to ensure that every penny we spend goes to the people most in need.
“The former Department for International Development was rightly seen as a world leader in value for money; the FCDO is broadly hanging on to that reputation. But it must make some urgent improvements.
“Reducing poverty must be the central aim of the development budget. While accountability to the taxpayer is an important consideration, the FCDO’s current definition of value for money risks diverting focus away from improving the lives of the most vulnerable – the very reason the aid budget exists at all.
“The savage aid cuts announced this year are already proving to be a tragic error that will cost lives and livelihoods, undermine our international standing and ultimately threaten our national security. They must be reversed.
“Value for money is critical to making the most of a shrinking aid budget. While this report finds some positives, the government must take urgent action to wipe out waste and ensure the money we are still spending makes a genuine difference.”