Mark Sedwill is frontrunner to become new UK ambassador to US, sources say

Mark Sedwill has emerged as the frontrunner to become the UK’s ambassador to the US, according to senior government figures.The former cabinet secretary and national security adviser is seen by ministers as the likeliest choice for the top diplomatic posting in Washington.The Foreign Office is seeking a replacement for Peter Mandelson, who was sacked last month after Downing Street said he had not been upfront about the extent of his links with the disgraced financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Several senior government figures said the role was highly likely to go to a career civil servant, rather than another political appointee such as Mandelson, and cited Sedwill as the strongest potential candidate.One said: “If Mark Sedwill wants it then he’s likely to get it

Nearly 2,000 Foreign Office jobs ‘at risk’, says PCS union

Almost 2,000 civil servants at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office face the risk of redundancy, with the biggest union for government workers vowing to fight the cuts.The PCS union, which has about 200,000 members, said it had been told that 1,885 jobs at the second highest level, known as delegated grades, were “at risk”, in addition to redundancy notices that have already been issued to some senior civil servants.The union linked the cuts to the government’s decision to reduce the foreign aid budget and accused the department of failing to follow civil service protocol by putting a number on job cuts before consulting.The Foreign Office (FCDO) said it was reducing its headcount to make the department more agile, after its permanent secretary, Olly Robbins, said earlier in the year that the department planned to reduce the size of its workforce by up to 25% as part of wider civil service changes.The Cabinet Office has previously announced plans to lose tens of thousands of roles in the civil service, but most attempted cuts so far have been through not replacing staff and voluntary, rather than compulsory, redundancy programmes

Three neo-Nazis jailed for plotting terror attacks on UK mosques and synagogues

Three neo-Nazi extremists who amassed an arsenal of more than 200 weapons and were planning terrorist attacks on mosques and synagogues in England have been jailed for between eight and 11 years.Christopher Ringrose, 35, Marco Pitzettu, 26, and Brogan Stewart, 25, communicated online and formed a group with “like-minded extremists” who wanted to “go to war for their chosen cause”, a jury heard.A nine-week trial at Sheffield crown court heard how the trio idolised Hitler and the Nazis, used racist slurs, glorified mass murderers and encouraged violence against anyone deemed an enemy.The three men, who were not believed to have met in person until they appeared together in the dock, were arrested when security services believed an attack was imminent. It came after undercover officers infiltrated their online group

Ministers plan high-level visits to China despite espionage trial outcry

Ministers are pushing ahead with their reset of relations with China, including several planned high-level visits before the end of the year, despite the furore triggered by the collapse of a high-profile espionage trial.Plans have been drawn up for Jonathan Powell, the national security adviser, to travel to Beijing in November for talks before an anticipated trip by Keir Starmer next year.Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, and Patrick Vallance, the science minister, are also expected to travel to China on government business before the end of the year.The government could yet decide to pull or postpone Powell’s November trip after he was dragged into the controversy surrounding the abandonment of charges against two men accused of spying for Beijing.A government spokesperson said: “We have long been clear that we are bringing a consistent, long-term and strategic approach to managing our relations with China, rooted in UK interests

No 10 says Badenoch’s claim PM should have intervened to stop China spy trial collapsing ‘absurd’ – as it happened

Matt Western, the Labour chair of the joint committee on national security strategy, said that his commitee met this morning and has decided to hold a formal inquiry into this.He said the chairs of the home affairs committee, the foreign affairs committee and the justice committee were among the committee’s members.He asked for an assurance that the inquiry would have access to ministers and officials.Ward said the government welcomed parliamentary scrutiny. He said he was sure witnesses would be made available to the committee

China spying case: dream job turns into nightmare for DPP Stephen Parkinson

Stephen Parkinson dreamed of being the most senior prosecutor in England and Wales before he even qualified as a barrister, but now finds himself in a situation more akin to a nightmare.As the director of public prosecutions (DPP), Parkinson is facing questions over why he felt he could not proceed with the trial of two men accused of spying for China. He said the case was dropped because prosecutors had tried and failed to obtain a witness statement from the government stating that China posed a current “threat to the national security of the UK”.But that explanation has been called into question by some senior lawyers and, perhaps more ominously for Parkinson’s job prospects, by politicians too. A government minister, Stephen Kinnock, declined to say whether Parkinson was the right person for the job of DPP