Between 1995 and 1998, he was British Ambassador to Israel; from 2001, he was a foreign policy adviser to British prime ministerTony Blair. During this time he developed a close relationship with his counterpart, then US National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Blair selected him to replace Christopher Meyer as the British Ambassador to the United States. Manning took up the post in 2003. Ambassador Manning visited numerous states, as well as the US territory of Puerto Rico, during his term as Ambassador to the United States and was instrumental in planning Queen Elizabeth's most recent visit.
2003 Iraq War
In the weeks before the United States-led invasion of Iraq, as the United States and Britain pressed for a second United Nations resolution condemning Iraq, President Bush met with Tony Blair. During a private two-hour meeting in the Oval Office on 31 January 2003, Bush made it clear to Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain that he, Bush, was determined to invade Iraq without the second resolution, or even if international arms inspectors failed to find unconventional weapons, stated a confidential memo about the meeting written by Manning and reviewed by The New York Times.
At their meeting, Bush and Blair candidly expressed their doubts that chemical, biological or nuclear weapons would be found in Iraq in the coming weeks, the memo said. The president spoke as if an invasion was unavoidable. The two leaders discussed a timetable for the war, details of the military campaign and plans for the aftermath of the war.
The memo also says the president raised three possible ways of provoking a confrontation, including the most controversial:
"The U.S. was thinking of flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft with fighter cover over Iraq, painted in U.N. colours," the memo says, attributing the idea to Mr. Bush. "If Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach".[1]
His close relationship with the Prime Minister suggests he has been a key figure in driving British foreign policy in respect of the United States, particularly in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 attacks and the decision to invade Iraq.
Manning has been elected to the Council of Lloyd's as an external member.[6]
In 2010 Manning formed Gatehouse Advisory Partners Limited in partnership with Sir Jeremy Greenstock. Gatehouse works with organisations to factor geopolitics into their decision making.