Varun Chandra will stay on as No. 10’s top business adviser and U.S. envoy.
Caroline Hug
Chandra has been credited by U.S. officials with helping to strike the U.K’s trade agreement with Washington. Multiple industry figures have described him as instrumental in negotiations that secured a 10 percent tariff ceiling on British exports to the U.S., as well as a controversial drug pricing agreement struck in December.
The former boss of secretive advisory firm Hakluyt — founded by a group of former MI6 spies — Chandra has worked closely with several figures across the Trump administration, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He has also played a key role in trade talks with the Gulf states.
Sky News first reported that Chandra would remain in post. Burnham’s team declined to comment.
