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Christian Turner is to become the UK’s new ambassador to Washington after a protracted and tense contest to replace Lord Peter Mandelson in the crucial diplomatic role.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer notified King Charles on Thursday of his plan to give Turner the key position spanning UK trade talks with Donald Trump’s administration and the conflict in Ukraine.
The appointment of the career diplomat, who had been set to become Britain’s new envoy to the UN, was seen by Whitehall officials as a “safe choice” for Starmer after Mandelson was sacked in September over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier.
Sir Olly Robbins, permanent secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, had lobbied Starmer to replace Mandelson with a tried-and-tested diplomat, rather than another political appointment.
Turner fits that bill, having held senior jobs in the diplomatic service, Whitehall and Number 10 in a career spanning almost 30 years.
He was appointed UK ambassador to the UN in New York in May, though he had yet to take up his post, and was previously political director at the FCDO. He served as high commissioner to Pakistan between 2019 and 2023.
Varun Chandra, Starmer’s business adviser and an architect of recent trade agreements with Trump, was seen by many as the frontrunner in the contest, given his close contacts with the White House.
But Starmer decided to keep Chandra in London, a decision revealed by the Financial Times on Wednesday. Chandra will have an expanded role that will include continuing to take a lead in trade talks with the US.
Senior diplomats said Robbins was determined that the prize Washington role should go to a senior official, not least because FCDO morale is very low after a series of swingeing job cuts.
“Olly also wanted someone who would report back through the FCDO rather than Number 10,” said another diplomat.
Allies of Robbins deny this claim, saying he wanted only to ensure that Starmer had a list of serious “appointable candidates”.
Nigel Casey, Britain’s ambassador to Moscow, entered the contest at the last minute and was seen by some in the FCDO as a “knockout candidate” who would persuade Starmer to go for a seasoned diplomat.
Starmer interviewed Turner, Casey and Chandra last week, but some government officials said Casey was needed in his current role in Moscow, given the tense state of talks on the war in Ukraine.
The prime minister’s choice of a seasoned diplomat, after criticism of a series of failed political appointments, was explained by one veteran diplomat as “simple”.
“Appointing Varun would have made it Starmer’s risk. Appointing Casey or Turner makes it the FCDO’s,” the person said.