Keir Starmer jokingly likened Peter Mandelson to Donald Trump last night as he welcomed the new British ambassador to Washington.
Speaking at a glitzy party at the palatial ambassador's residence in the US capital, the Prime Minister briefly looked set to criticise President Trump - before turning the joke on the new ambassador.
Addressing an audience drawn from the Washington elite, the PM said: 'I've only just arrived but already I can feel there's a real buzz around Washington right now.
'You can sense that there's a new leader. He's a true one-off, a pioneer in business, in politics.
'Many people love him. Others love to hate him.