‘Give peace a chance?’ Perhaps Peter Mandelson might try silence, instead of

The ambassador hasn’t exactly improved relations between No 10 and the US with his incendiary comments on Ukraine, writes Sean O’Grady – wasn’t that the entire point of his job?

When one of Peter Mandelson’s predecessors as British ambassador to the United States asked what his mission entailed, he was told that it was quite simply to “get up the arse of the White House and stay there”.

The diplomat given this remit was Sir Christopher Meyer back in 1997. The man dishing out such succinct advice was Jonathan Powell, then Tony Blair’s chief of staff and now reborn as a consiglieri and national security adviser to Keir Starmer. One wonders if Jonathan has offered similar advice to Lord Mandelson about his Washington posting. If so, then Mandelson has taken it a bit too far.

In his interview with ABC presenter George Stephanopoulos, another veteran of the Clinton-Blair “Third Way” era, Mandelson took his self-abasement in the face (or indeed, arse) of Donald Trump to new lows. Having witnessed the Goodfellas-style shakedown of poor Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office by Trump, Vance and a patsy reporter, Mandelson was ready with a poignard to stab the Ukrainian in the back as he staggered back to Kyiv via London and Sandringham (where he found more convivial company).

More polished but no less Trumpian than Trump himself, Mandelson said that Trump’s “peace” deal is the only game in town, that this blank cheque of a settlement required Zelensky’s “unequivocal” support, and that a ceasefire should be signed up to by Ukraine immediately, without any preconditions, security guarantees, or any idea of what Ukraine’s new borders are supposed to look like.

Indeed, seemingly intoxicated at the chance to address the American people and global leaders directly – ie, hitting the political big time – Mandelson took it upon himself to tell Starmer, Macron, Trudeau and anyone else what to do: “And the Europeans too, need to back the calls for a ceasefire. And, by the way, I think that Ukraine should be the first to commit to a ceasefire and defy the Russians to follow.”

Mandelson’s advice to Ukraine, therefore, is akin to unilateral disarmament, an attitude he used to despise for its juvenile naivety when he came across it in his days as a Labour fixer. Now, though, he demands that Ukraine and the rest of Europe place their implicit trust – and their future as sovereign, independent, free nations – in the famously delicate and kindly hands of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

By giving in, Zelensky will force the Russians to the negotiating table, but to do what? Accept the surrender? On the contrary, the West, if that’s still a thing, should be threatening Russia with a longer war. Within a year, their economy would collapse, and the battlefield losses would be unbearable. We are admitting defeat when victory is at hand.

The late John Prescott named a crab after him, which was one of the more gentle sobriquets given to the ‘Prince of Darkness’ (Getty)

Mandelson’s intervention shows he is exceeding his brief in endorsing the White House line and taking his explorations up Trump’s backside to stretches of the upper colon previously only charted by JD Vance, Marco Rubio and the presidential proctologist. No doubt, seized as ever by his own brilliance, Mandelson reckons that, in ingratiating himself with Trump and the rest of the gang, he is somehow going to make himself their trusted friend, gain their confidence and then use such influence as he gains to Britain’s advantage.

It is what he used to try and do under successive Labour leaders, apart from John Smith who was wary of Peter’s mastery of the “dark arts”. The fact is that Mandelson ran into frequent trouble as a result of overplaying his hand – including two resignations from Blair’s government – and sometimes did himself, and those he served, including his own party, more harm than good. The late John Prescott named a crab after him, which was one of the more gentle sobriquets given to the “Prince of Darkness”.

It is no different now, and he is foolish if he thinks that he can manipulate Trump because no one has ever managed to do that. The reason why it is also dangerous is that he seems to be trying to be a player rather than a mere diplomat and adviser. His “messaging” may or may not please Trump but it actually undermines the security and negotiating position of Ukraine and, still more grievous for those in No 10, subtly contradicts the prime minister. Starmer, for example, spent Sunday warmly hugging Zelensky and doubling down on supporting Ukraine. He got his fellow leaders to commit to a plan that does not require an immediate unconditional surrender by Ukraine, as Mandelson (and Trump) in effect calls for, but rather to help Ukraine fight on to be in the strongest position in negotiations.

To take another example: Mandelson implies that a European military presence in Ukraine would be sufficient to deter Putin and that American support would, basically, also be very nice to have but the presence of US businesspeople and mining engineers working on the minerals deal would be sufficient to stop Putin – Trump’s policy. Starmer’s policy is different in that the American “backstop” is absolutely essential, as he said: “A US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia.” It is surely not the job of the British ambassador in Washington to publicly interpolate himself as another “bridge” between Washington and London and contradict, however deftly, his prime minister. At best, it’s cheeky. At worst, it’s adding confusion at a delicate time for European peace.

So whatever Mandelson is playing at – and his mind appears so contorted he may not even realise himself – he is not being helpful. He should by all means play the courtier, and deploy his formidable gifts of persuasion, but he should do so in private and in a way consistent with British policy. Above all he should not, in this case, act so foolishly as to give the impression that Ukraine has had it. At one point in his interview Mandelson, uncharacteristically, came over all John Lennon and told Zelensky that all he, Mandelson, was saying was “give peace a chance”. Mandy should try giving silence a chance, instead.