Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has stated that Lord Peter Mandelson should “never have been appointed” as the ambassador to the United States, while declining to comment on whether Sir Keir Starmer is a strong and effective leader.
Speaking to reporters during a trip to Beijing, Ms Cooper described the release of documents concerning Lord Mandelson’s appointment as an “unedifying process”. The Government had published a second tranche of over 1,000 pages of messages, some of which proved embarrassing for ministers, including Sir Keir Starmer, whom Lord Mandelson had described as “consistently going for direction B”.
When asked about the peer’s portrayal of the Prime Minister’s working cycle as “advance/buckle/advance/buckle”, Ms Cooper said: “What I would say is that Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed as ambassador to the United States, and look, of course there’s been a lot of transparency now about messages being released. That’s always an unedifying process but right to be transparent.”
She added: “We mustn’t forget two things, first is that in the end this whole thing started about Epstein’s abuse of young women and girls, and sometimes the conversation gets pulled away from that, and secondly, I think the whole Government is getting on with the most important issues that affect our country and that’s exactly why I’m here in China having these important discussions about international security.”
The Foreign Secretary avoided a direct answer when asked if she could describe Sir Keir as a strong and effective leader. Instead, she emphasised her work in China on international security, which follows the Prime Minister’s visit to China with President Xi earlier this year.
Sir Keir sacked Lord Mandelson in September 2025 after mounting pressure over leaked emails showing the peer had sent supportive messages to Jeffrey Epstein, who was facing jail for sex offences. MPs had voted earlier this year to force the disclosure of documents relating to Mandelson’s time as ambassador.
