At another point, it was suggested that the appointment of Mandelson was being blocked by the foreign secretary, David Lammy, who feared one of the key roles in his job – guiding the special relationship through a second Trump term – would effectively be snatched from him by the publicity-attracting former minister.
It had been suggested that either Mandelson or David Miliband, the former Labour foreign secretary, would be offered the post if Kamala Harris was appointed, since they were natural ideological soulmates, but a lower-profile professional diplomat would handle relations if Trump triumphed.
For some months, Lord Mandelson had been going round London suggesting he had no desire to be appointed to the role of Washington ambassador, saying he would rather not become a hotel manager so late in his career.
In the end, if Lammy ever harboured such doubts – and the evidence is thin – he was big enough to see the virtue in the appointment of the first political ambassador to Washington in 50 years.
Labour veteran Peter Mandelson is the first political appointment as ambassador to Washington in 50 years.
