Who will be the next UK ambassador to the US?

Former Labour ministers David Miliband and Peter Mandelson are reportedly the front-runners to become the UK’s next ambassador to the US, halting an appointment made in the final days of the Conservative government. Sir Tim Barrow was poised to move from his role as National Security Adviser to become London’s man in Washington. But the i newspaper reports that just hours after Keir Starmer claimed electoral victory, his chief of staff Sue Gray told Barrow he was not getting the job. Miliband is a former foreign secretary who has headed up the New York-based International Rescue Committee for over a decade. Mandelson, a Labour peer who held multiple roles under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, has become a core part of Starmer’s network while chairing consultancy firm Global Council. Starmer will meet Joe Biden for the first time this week during a Nato summit in Washington.

Starmer is also expected to hold talks with Ukranian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Labour is facing one of its first big tests since winning last week’s election: clarity over its defence spending.

During the election campaign the party committed to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence, but did not put a date on it, saying only that it would happen when the economic conditions allow.