Sir Keir Starmer has picked Peter Mandleson as the next ambassador to the US, it is claimed tonight.
The Prime Minister selected Labour grandee Lord Mandleson, making him the first political appointment to the role in decades.
The former Cabinet minister will take over as Donald Trump begins his second term as US president.
Former Business Secretary and de-facto deputy prime minister Gordon Brown Lord Mandleson is a close ally of Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir’s chief of staff.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy is said to have backed the appointment.
Mandelson is said to have beaten former foreign secretary David Miliband, Baroness Amos, a former development secretary, and Baroness Ashton of Upholland, to the post.
One source said that Starmer’s decision to make a political appointment reflected how seriously he takes the UK’s relationship with the US, adding that Mandelson is a “significant figure in his own right”.