Mark Sedwill is frontrunner to become new UK ambassador to US, sources say

"The Foreign Office is seeking a replacement for Peter Mandelson, who was sacked last month after Downing Street said he had not been upfront about the extent of his links with the disgraced financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Several senior government figures said the role was highly likely to go to a career civil servant, rather than another political appointee such as Mandelson, and cited Sedwill as the strongest potential candidate."

"Sedwill left the civil service in late 2020 and has since taken up a number of private sector positions, including as a senior adviser to the financial advisory group Rothschild & Co. He is a member of the House of Lords and sits on the joint committee on national security strategy, which is due to question the national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, next month."

"Sedwill's recent comments criticising the collapse of the trial of two men accused of spying for Beijing have raised eyebrows in Whitehall. He told a podcast he was genuinely puzzled, to put it politely, about the basis on which this trial has fallen apart. One government source said: I can't imagine that will have endeared him to Downing Street. But other insiders suggested that Sedwill's comments could put him in good stead with the Trump administration."

Mark Sedwill has emerged as the frontrunner for the UK's ambassadorial post in Washington. He is a former cabinet secretary and national security adviser. The Foreign Office is seeking a replacement for Peter Mandelson after Mandelson was sacked over undisclosed links with Jeffrey Epstein. Several senior government figures expect the role to go to a career civil servant rather than another political appointee, and the post has been advertised while James Roscoe temporarily fills the role. Sedwill left the civil service in late 2020, holds private sector roles including with Rothschild & Co, and sits in the House of Lords. His comments on a collapsed spying trial have unsettled some officials but may appeal to the Trump administration.

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