Lord Peter Mandelson denied any interest in becoming the UK’s ambassador to the US in a Newsnight interview in July - just four months before he was appointed to the role.
Lord Mandelson, who served in the cabinets of Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, has been made the UK’s next top diplomat in Washington, as President-elect Donald Trump returns to office.
When asked by Newsnight’s Kirsty Wark about the rumours in July this year, Lord Mandelson said: “No no no no no. Everyone who knows me...knows I’m heading towards Wiltshire not Washington.”