Starmer to pick new US ambassador as relations with Trump tested | Foreign policy
As relations with the US are tested over Ukraine and Donald Trump’s attacks on European leaders, Keir Starmer is preparing to choose his new ambassador to Washington from a shortlist of three.
The Prime Minister interviewed three finalists for the role this week and Downing Street is set to make an appointment before the end of the year, the Guardian understands.
The three candidates Starmer saw were business consultant Varun Chandra, who helped negotiate a series of deals with the Trump administration, diplomat Christian Turner, who would become UN ambassador, and Nigel Casey, the UK ambassador to Russia.
Whoever is chosen will assume this role at a critical stage in US-UK relations; insiders warn of rising tensions over Ukraine and the White House’s combative national security strategy.
A former managing partner of corporate intelligence firm Hakluyt, Chandra played a central role in negotiating bilateral agreements with the United States on trade, technology and pharmaceuticals and is seen as a pioneer.
But while the State Department is said to be pushing for the selection of a career diplomat, some insiders argue it carries less political risk.
Turner, who previously served as political director of the Foreign Office and high commissioner in Pakistan, and Casey, who was high commissioner in South Africa and private secretary of state for foreign affairs to David Cameron and Theresa May, are widely respected in Whitehall.
Casey entered the contest late and his addition was seen as a sign that Downing Street was disappointed with the original list put forward by the Foreign Office. If the Prime Minister is dissatisfied with any of the three candidates, he can decide to directly appoint someone else.
Earlier this week, Starmer met US Ambassador to the UK Warren Stephens in Downing Street to discuss implementation of trade and technology deals announced earlier this year.
Starmer has developed a strong personal relationship with Trump but this is constantly tested by key policy differences, including on green energy and cultural issues.
Relations between the United States and Europe are severely strained due to Trump’s growing impatience with the continuation of the war in Ukraine.
The US president is pressing Kiev to cede territory to quickly end the conflict and has told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he wants a peace deal in place by Christmas.
European leaders, including Starmer, will hold a new series of crisis talks in Berlin on Monday to discuss a US-brokered peace proposal.
Meanwhile, senior British MPs this week criticized the Trump administration over its national security strategy, saying Europe faces the “erasure of civilisation” and hailing the growing influence of “patriotic European parties”.
Trump stepped up his attacks in an interview this week, arguing that many European states “can no longer be livable countries” unless they change their border policies and crack down on immigration.
Starmer and his ministers have been careful not to criticize Trump for the documents or his interventions, while insisting that Europe is strong and investing more in its own defence.
The US ambassador position was left vacant in September after Peter Mandelson was fired for failing to disclose the extent of his ties to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Documents and emails released that month revealed that Mandelson expressed his love and support for Epstein and urged him to “fight for early release” in 2008; Meanwhile, the financier was facing charges of soliciting sexual intercourse from minors.
The episode was damaging to Starmer because it emerged that he had been briefed on details of Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein and other “reputation risks” before choosing Mandelson.
