Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
The UK government is preparing to announce national security adviser Sir Tim Barrow will become the country’s next ambassador to the US, sparking threats from Labour that it may reverse the appointment.
An announcement that Barrow will take over from incumbent ambassador Dame Karen Pierce could be made as soon as this week, said people familiar with the matter.
He would not be expected to take up the position until December this year or January 2025, after both the UK general election and the US presidential election have taken place, they added.
The plan has triggered anger in Sir Keir Starmer’s opposition Labour party, with officials insisting the next UK government should make the appointment to what is the most senior British diplomatic posting.
“By needlessly rushing through vital diplomatic appointments so close to both the UK and US elections, the Tories are putting their party interests before the national interest once again,” a Labour official said.
Labour, which is an average of 20 points ahead of the Conservatives in the polls, may override the decision and install its own preferred candidate in Washington if Starmer enters Downing Street, they warned.
“If Labour wins the privilege of forming the next government, we would of course reserve the right to revisit senior diplomatic appointments made in the run-up to the general election,” the official said.
Barrow’s appointment would create another vacancy at the heart of government that the current Conservative administration may seek to fill: the prime minister’s national security adviser.
Barrow began his Foreign Office career in 1986 and rose to become the second permanent secretary and political director at the department, before becoming national security adviser to Liz Truss, and now Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
He is also the UK sherpa for the G7 and G20, representing Britain at these multilateral forums. Previously Barrow served in Moscow and was appointed UK ambassador to the EU in 2017 after Britons voted to leave the bloc in the EU referendum the year before.
Barrow was sent to Brussels after his predecessor was forced out by then prime minister Theresa May and went on to play a key role in the Brexit negotiations.
The Financial Times first reported in February that Barrow was a frontrunner for the plum role of UK ambassador to the US, while government officials touted Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Philip Barton and his Home Office counterpart Sir Matthew Rycroft as other possible contenders.
One former UK ambassador to the US said: “Given the sensitivity of the Washington post and given there’s a UK election coming up, to avoid a row it might have been sensible to clear the decision with the leader of the opposition’s office.”
But the former diplomat added that while Barrow did not have extensive experience in the US, as a career civil servant and therefore a “technocratic rather than political appointment” he was not a controversial choice.
Alex Thomas, programme director at the Institute for Government think-tank, defended the government’s right to make the appointment.
“These posts are lined up pretty well in advance, in part for personal reasons — often they mean uprooting families. You would certainly want someone lined up who could build relationships with both the Biden and Trump teams before the inauguration next January.”
He added: “There’s no convention that’s developed that you’d keep these appointments open for an incoming government to fill.”
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “Future ambassadorial appointments will be confirmed by the FCDO in the usual way.”
Read the full article here
