America has special relationship with Israel now, UK’s new US ambassador says

Diplomat described Keir Starmer as being ‘on the ropes’ over Peter Mandelson scandal in private meeting with students The UK’s new ambassador to the US has described Keir Starmer as having been “on the ropes” over the Peter Mandelson scandal and said it is Israel rather than Britain that has a “special relationship” with the White House. Christian Turner, who took office in February to replace Mandelson as the UK’s most senior diplomat in Washington, made the remarks privately to a group of students visiting the US in the same month he was appointed. His remarks are embarrassing for Downing Street because they emerged in the same week that the king is carrying out his state visit under the president, Donald Trump, who has previously described Mandelson as a “really bad pick”. Mandelson was sacked by the prime minister last year for misleading him over the depth of his friendship with the late child sex offender financier Jeffrey Epstein. Turner, 53, told the students it was “extraordinary” that the Epstein scandal “hasn’t touched anybody” in the US, while it had “brought down” Mandelson and “potentially the prime minister”, the Financial Times