Barton's Bombshell: Mandelson's US Ambassadorship

0:00On April 22nd, Sir Philip Barton, the top civil servant at the foreign office, sent a letter on December 18th, 2024, formally. Appointing Lord Peter Mandelson as Britain's new U.S. ambassador, even though he fought hard against it, Barton clashed with Downing Street and the cabinet office over Mandelson's past, including his lobbying firm ties to Chinese and Russian companies. Despite pressure to skip full security checks, Barton insisted on proper vetting for the key role. The push came from heavy hitters like Pat McFadden in the cabinet office, a long-time Mandelson ally who even attended his wedding. Barton, with decades serving under prime ministers like Tony Blair, backed the current ambassador, Dame Karen Pierce, who had strong links to both. Biden and the incoming Trump team. Reports say Trump's transition folks tried intervening to keep her in place. Meanwhile, Kear Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney allegedly urged Barton to just approve it fast, though he denies that. Barton wouldn't budget first, but by early November, without foreign secretary David Lamy's support, he agreed to retire early, pocketing a two.

1:08162,185 pound payout on top of his 240,000 pound salary. His successor, Sir Olly Robbins, finally signed off on Mandelson's nod right before Biden left office, but Robbins got sacked over the vetting mess. And blasted the prime minister in committee testimony this week. Next week, Barton faces the foreign affairs select committee right after McSweeney and insiders say he might drop bombshells on why two top. Officials got shoved out to make this happen, piling more heat on Starmer's shaky start.