Rishi Sunak is expected to appoint Sir Tim Barrow, his national security adviser, as Britain’s next ambassador to the United States.
Downing Street is set to announce as soon as Tuesday that Sir Tim, the former ambassador to Ukraine, Russia and the EU, will be sent to the British Embassy in Washington DC at the end of this year.
The position, which is one of the Government’s most prestigious placements, carries even greater weight in advance of the US presidential election in November, which could see Donald Trump handed a second term in the White House.
The next appointment has been a matter of debate in Washington and Whitehall for some time, after the current ambassador, Dame Karen Pierce, had her usual term of four years extended because of the pandemic.
Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, is understood to have suggested that the Government wait until after the next general election before announcing her replacement.
However, his advice was overruled by Mr Sunak, who is said to have wanted to reward Sir Tim for his work in Downing Street.
Barrow is ‘seasoned negotiator’, say friends
As Britain’s man in Europe, the 60-year-old diplomat was given the task of triggering Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union – formally triggering the Brexit process.
At the time, friends described him as a “seasoned negotiator” who would strike a tough deal with the EU after Brexit, but Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, said he was another “knighted career diplomat”.
Mr Farage has expressed interest in the position of British ambassador to the US, but acknowledged he was unlikely to be appointed by either Mr Sunak or Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader.
After serving in Kyiv for two years and Russia for five years, Sir Tim will be placed in charge of building support for Ukraine in Washington on behalf of the UK Government in the event that Mr Trump wins the election.
