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James Roscoe stood in as interim ambassador after Lord Peter Mandelson was sacked but has now departed amid claims he was being investigated for leaking

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A high-flying British diplomat in Washington has abruptly left his post amid claims he was being investigated for leaking sensitive information about the Peter Mandelson scandal.

No explanation has yet officially been given for the departure of James Roscoe, who stood in as interim ambassador after Lord Mandelson was sacked as US ambassador over his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

As the former press secretary to the late Queen Elizabeth II, Mr Roscoe had served as deputy head of mission at the British Embassy since 2022.

He had previously had a distinguished career including as the UK ambassador to the UN General Assembly from 2019. Prior to this, from 2016 to 2019, he held the roles of director for communications at the Cabinet Office and subsequently the Department for Exiting the European Union.

Sources in Washington DC have claimed that his departure is linked to allegations that he leaked a National Security briefing to The Spectator journalist Tim Shipman, as well as information about Lord Mandelson failing his security vetting.

The revelations that the security services had recommended that Lord Mandelson should be denied clearance for the US ambassador role, but was given the job anyway brought Sir Keir Starmer to the brink of being ousted as prime minister. The scandal prompted a series of questions over the appointment of the Labour grandee in the first place given his close links to the Epstein, China and Russia.