Latest news with #Mandelson
Epoch Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Epoch Times
Mandelson Calls for UK–US Alliance Centred on AI to Counter China Threat
British Ambassador to the United States Lord Peter Mandelson has called for greater UK–U.S. cooperation in technology to counter the 'clear shared threat' from China. Mandelson highlighted artificial intelligence specifically as the 'spearpoint' of this potential British–American tech collaboration, in a speech he The ambassador told delegates that the recently-agreed The former Labour MP said: 'We face a clear, shared threat. There is nothing in this world I fear more than China winning the race for technological dominance in the coming decades. 'China represents a far more dynamic and formidable strategic rival than the Soviet Union ever was: economically sophisticated, highly innovative, and strategically patient.' AI 'Spearpoint' of Collaboration Mandelson said that the United States and the UK are the only two Western nations with trillion-pound technology ecosystems, which when combined would 'drive the scientific breakthroughs that will define this century, and AI should be the spearpoint of that collaboration.' 'Rather than stifling these transformative technologies through excessive regulation, our two governments must unleash their immense potential for human benefit and Western advantage,' Mandleson said. Related Stories 5/8/2025 5/22/2025 The ambassador is not alone in recommending greater international collaboration on tech to counter China. In May, University of Oxford lecturer Keegan McBride and senior fellow at the R Street Institute Adam Thierer Mandleson's comments come as London has sought to reset relations with Beijing. In a shift from their Conservative predecessors who distanced themselves from the regime, the new Labour government resumed diplomatic relations with China. It has Labour's Vision for AI Since Labour came to power last year, it has said that AI will be at the forefront of its plans to grow the British economy and improve public services, as well as position the UK as a global leader in AI innovation. In its AI Opportunities Action Plan, the government U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, on Jan. 21, January, U.S. President Donald Trump Recently, Trump said that his tariff policies are aimed at bolstering the American tech industry, as well as defence, European Defence Trump's emphasis on ramping up defence production comes as European NATO allies work to strengthen their own military capabilities in response to the Russia–Ukraine war, growing global tensions, and increasingly assertive hostile states. Mandelson addressed the need for Europe to increase its own defence spending and to rely less on the United States, which is a point that Trump has been making since his 2016 presidential campaign. The ambassador said during his speech at the Atlantic Council that Europe's 'peace dividend' has turned into a urgent bill for decades of defence underinvestment, with the return of war on European soil being a 'brutal wake-up call.' Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to crew in the control room as he tours HMS Iron Duke in Tallinn, Estonia, on Dec. 17, 2024.'We have lived in a fantasy created by the U.S. security guarantee, complacent that a friendly heavyweight across the water would be always there when the going gets tough,' he said. Mandelson—who has not always seen eye-to-eye with Trump, having called him a Last year, the government
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
British Ambassador to US rejects Epstein question - then admits 'regret'
Britain's Ambassador to the US Lord Peter Mandelson yesterday admitted he wishes he'd "never met" Jeffrey Epstein. The Labour peer firstly rejected a question from a journalist about his relationship with the disgraced paedophile Epstein. But he then admitted he had "regret" over ever meeting the American financier, who died in 2019 while waiting for his trial on sex trafficking charges. Asked whether he stayed at Epstein's apartment in New Yew York June 2009, Lord Mandelson told Sky News on Tuesday: "I'm not answering any questions about him." Pressed about him being in jail at the time, he added: "My knowledge of him is something that I regret. I wish I'd never met him in the first place." Asked why he had an association with him, while he was in jail, Lord Mandelson said: "Why did many people meet him? He was a prolific networker and I wish I'd never met him in the first place." READ MORE: Peter Mandelson launches into sweary tirade at journalist over Jeffrey Epstein question Lord Mandelson firstly said: 'I'm not answering any questions about him' (Image: Sky News) In February, Lord Mandelson became frustrated during an interview marking his new role as Britain's Ambassador to the US. The Labour peer hit out at interest in his relationship with Epstein an "obsession" and launched into a sweary tirade at a journalist. Lord Mandelson has not been accused of wrongdoing by an Epstein victim. But a 2019 JPMorgan internal report filed in a New York court in 2023 described multiple meetings between the two men, stating: "Jeffrey Epstein appears to maintain a particularly close relationship with Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and Lord Peter Mandelson, a senior member of the British government." Photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein (Image: AP) And emails which surfaced earlier this year showed he was still in touch with the disgraced financier as recently as 2012. "I regret ever meeting him or being introduced to him by his partner Ghislaine Maxwell," he told the Financial Times (FT). "I regret even more the hurt he caused to many young women." He went on: "I'm not going to go into this. It's an FT obsession and frankly you can all f*** off. OK?" Lord Mandelson, a key figure in Tony Blair's New Labour Government, was one of Keir Starmer's key advisors in the build-up to the General Election. The former Business Secretary, who held multiple positions under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, was appointed Ambassador after being considered a trusted pair of hands to deal with Donald Trump. BLUESKY: Follow our Mirror Politics account on Bluesky here. And follow our Mirror Politics team here - Lizzy Buchan, Mikey Smith, Kevin Maguire, Sophie Huskisson, Dave Burke and Ashley Cowburn. POLITICS WHATSAPP: Be first to get the biggest bombshells and breaking news by joining our Politics WhatsApp group here. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you want to leave our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. NEWSLETTER: Or sign up here to the Mirror's Politics newsletter for all the best exclusives and opinions straight to your inbox. PODCAST: And listen to our exciting new political podcast The Division Bell, hosted by the Mirror and the Express every Thursday. Victims of paedophile Epstein reacted with revulsion after Keir Starmer appointed Lord Mandelson UK ambassador to the States. One of those sexually assaulted by Epstein told the Mirror in December: "As a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein's depravity, I'm horrified by Peter Mandelson's appointment. "This isn't just a poor choice. It's an insult to every survivor who fought to expose Epstein's web of power and exploitation. What's even more shocking is your prime minister's clear support of the decision." READ MORE: Join our Mirror politics WhatsApp group to get the latest updates from Westminster
New Statesman
2 days ago
- Business
- New Statesman
Even Peter Mandelson thinks globalisation is dead
Photo byIn 2005, Tony Blair said debating globalisation was as worthwhile as debating whether autumn followed summer. Twenty years later, his old cabinet minister Peter Mandelson, now Britain's ambassador to America, gave a lecture pronouncing the demise of 'hyper-globalisation'. Trump, it seems, has the power to reorder the seasons. Mandelson is integrating well into Trump's America. The last time he was in public he was grinning through a car window on the White House driveway, moments after the president praised his 'beautiful accent' as they signed a deal on tariffs in the Oval Office. He was soon being heralded back home as a Trump whisperer. Mandelson's profile soared, even as evidence of a Special Relationship dwindled. There's an irony to Mandelson's mission in Washington: he has been tasked with shepherding Britain through Trump's dismantling of the very global system which he helped to create. He was the EU's trade commissioner between his slots atop the pro-globalisation New Labour government. Now, on the 11th floor of the moneyed Atlantic Council, he said the World Trade Organisation rulebook is unfit for the 21st century, and that Nato must go through a 'reinvention'. The institutions he had spent decades building up were crumbling around him. Washington's old diplomatic guard had gathered to hear how the Special Relationship would endure this tumult. Mandelson's prescription is for the UK to prove its 'huge usefulness' to America. Britain must become 'less dependent [on the US] but still inseparably linked'. The country is not torn between the EU on one side and America on the other. Instead, the UK can 'serve' – his word – both allies. Labour's strategy has been to hug Trump desperately close. Mandelson said he 'could not complain' about the administration's welcome. He meant that they'd treated him well – but it's also literally true: complaints in Trump's Washington do not go unpunished. His call for Britain and America to renew their 'vows' over the coming months was an unfortunate metaphor for a president with a predilection for divorce. Nonetheless, Mandelson is more candid than a traditional diplomat, happy raising a telling eyebrow, or alluding in answers to his regret over Brexit – a political dart no traditional civil servant would publicly throw. This authenticity suits Trumpland, where respect for procedure is long gone. Ditto that soporific drawl. Beneath the accent, and the dire prognosis for globalisation, Mandelson's message was temptingly optimistic – and specific: the Special Relationship will be revived in the labs of Silicon Valley. Where once globalisation was both inevitable and beneficial, now Britain's saviour will arrive bearing Artificially Intelligent robots. Mandelson is positioning the UK for a big deal on technology; he talks of the tariff deal as a precursor to something more substantial. This speech sounded like an invitation to America's technologists to realise his techno-futurist vision of Britain as 'an AI-driven, new model economy for the 21st century.' Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe If Mandelson pulls off some such deal then his influence would extend far beyond the sphere of a traditional ambassador. He would be shunting the British economy into Silicon Valley's fiefdom. [See more: Meet Britain's Joe Rogan] Related
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
UK ambassador says Trump ‘got it right' calling Putin ‘crazy'
British Ambassador to U.S. Peter Mandelson said Tuesday that President Trump 'got it right' when he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having gone 'absolutely' crazy in weekend social media posts. Speaking at the 2025 Christopher J. Makins Lecture at the Atlantic Council, Mandelson added that both Trump and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and others are 'right' to be looking to the possibility of added pressure on Putin to bring him to the negotiating table. 'I mean crazy in his indifference to international opinion, crazy in his disrespect to the President of the United States and what he's trying to do bring peace but notably gone crazy in the continuing death and destruction that he is visiting upon Ukraine and his people. This weekend saw the biggest single bombing raid of Ukraine, killing so many Ukrainians sleeping in their beds that we've seen since the invasion began,' the diplomat said in Washington D.C. 'Is this a man who's looking for peace? Doesn't look like it to me.' In recent days, a bipartisan group of senators has prepared a sanctions package that has garnered support from more than 80 members. The measure includes a 500 percent tariff on imports from nations that purchase Russian oil, petroleum products, natural gas or uranium. According to Mandelson, the U.K. 'strongly supports' Trump's initiative to bring the Russia-Ukraine conflict to an end, though the U.K. has been far more supportive of Ukraine than the U.S. under Trump. Mandelson added that the war was a 'brutal wake-up call' with 'state-on-state war' returning to Europe and it was 'crystal clear' that Europe must step up funding for its collective security. 'I think President Trump is doing Europe a favor by confronting us with this reality. The United States is the U.K.'s closest defense and security ally. We must become less dependent on America, while remaining inseparably linked to America, a distinction that I underline of critical importance,' he added. Mandelson's comments come as Trump has become increasingly vocal in questioning Putin's motives, saying Sunday that the Russian leader has gone 'crazy.' 'I've always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY!' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I'm not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever.' The U.K. has waged a public charm offensive in its relations with Trump, and Mandelson joined the president in the White House earlier this month for the announcement of the administration's first foreign trade deal since Trump's tariff 'Liberation Day.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mandelson attacks ‘fetish' for ditching EU rules
Lord Mandelson has attacked the 'fetish' for ditching EU rules that work in Britain's interests, during a speech in Washington DC. Lord Mandelson, Britain's ambassador to the United States, sought to reassure critics who were concerned Sir Keir Starmer's 'reset deal' with the bloc would drag Britain back into the EU. He said: 'I mean, why make a fetish of dis-alignment when we know that it's in the interests of our business and traders to pursue and to follow those rules and standards.' Speaking at an event in Washington on Tuesday, the Labour peer suggested it was Britain's job to be of 'huge usefulness' to both allies. 'I think the job of Britain is to be of huge usefulness, both to the United States and the European Union,' he told a crowd gathered at the Atlantic Council. 'We're not in the European Union anymore, and we're not going to go back for the foreseeable future, certainly. But we are European, a European country. 'We left the European Union with a pretty miserable deal, frankly, unfair to us, not particularly favourable in the long term to the EU.' The Prime Minister unveiled the agreement in London last week, insisting it was a 'win-win' for Britain that would deliver a £9 billion boost to the economy. Credit: Reuters But critics seized on clauses in the deal which give European fishermen access to the UK's coastal waters until 2038 and allow Brussels to impose sanctions on British exports if any future government decides to rewrite the deal. Officials in Washington have warned the Prime Minister against aligning the UK too closely with the EU at the expense of his relationship with Donald Trump, a Eurosceptic 'But like the Prime Minister has said, we see absolutely nothing inconsistent with or at odds between our relationship in Europe and our relationship with the US,' Lord Mandelson added. The agreement will also force Britain to follow EU rules on food standards and submit to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, which could become a point of contention for the White House. Under the US trade deal, British ministers explicitly ruled out accepting controversial products like chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef, much to Mr Trump's dismay. The biggest concession that Sir Keir offered Mr Trump was to slash tariffs on US beef imports from up to 20pc to zero. At the same time, Britain also slashed the tariff on imported ethanol. 'There's no point in dis-aligning ourselves from European Union rules and standards where we are operating in Britain, those rules and standards in order to export into the European single market,' Lord Mandelson added. Meanwhile, Lord Mandelson said Nato needed a 'real reinvention' amid fears that the United States could pull its troops from Europe when leaders meet next month. Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised Nato countries for not meeting the current two per cent spending goal, arguing that the disparity puts an unfair burden on the United States. In turn, the administration is said to be redrawing Nato engagement in a way that favours member countries with higher defence spending. 'Nato doesn't just need a reset. It doesn't just need a tweak or a rebalance or an adjustment in its cost bearing burden,' Lord Mandelson added. 'It needs a real reinvention for the 21st Century, and that's what I hope that the Hague summit will trigger to open up a lot of collaboration between us in the years to come.' Lord Mandelson, who has faced criticism for his alleged links to the Chinese Communist Party, said the US and Britain must combine forces to stop China's technological advancement. 'There is nothing in this world I fear more than China winning the race for technological dominance in the coming decades, China represents a far more dynamic and formidable strategic rival than the Soviet Union ever was.' 'The United Kingdom and United States are the only two Western nations with trillion dollar technology ecosystems combined with unparalleled talent and research capabilities in our universities and corporations. 'We must combine forces, in my view, to drive the scientific breakthroughs that will define this century.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
