Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was ‘delighted’ to appoint Lord Mandelson to the post.

Lord Peter Mandelson has said it is a “great honour to serve the country” as the Prime Minister confirmed he had appointed him the next British ambassador to the US.

Labour grandee Lord Mandelson, who served in the cabinets of Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, becomes the UK’s top diplomat in Washington DC as US President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to the White House.

“It is a great honour to serve the country in this way,” Lord Mandelson said.

He added: “We face challenges in Britain but also big opportunities and it will be a privilege to work with the Government to land those opportunities, both for our economy and our nation’s security, and to advance our historic alliance with the United States.”

Lord Mandelson will take up the role in early........

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