Allies of Gordon Brown rounded on the peer in the wake of a prepublication interview in which he branded supporters of the former prime minister "destructive" and accused them of having "unbridled contempt" for Tony Blair. Labour insiders said it "beggared belief" that Lord Mandelson could be about to make damaging revelations about senior members of the party during its leadership campaign.
Mandelson: born to be driven
The row comes as The Sunday Telegraph investigates allegations concerning Lord Mandelson's links to big business and his apparent failure to declare his relationship with a consultancy which provides "inside information" to hedge funds. Former employees of Medley Global Advisers said Lord Mandelson had been paid for providing "intelligence" on the company when he was an MP.
Lord Mandelson has angered Labour MPs by choosing to bring out his book, The Third Man, this week. Charlie Whelan, Mr Brown's former adviser, yesterday led the criticism of Lord Mandelson. He said: "Peter ran the worst general campaign in Labour's history. Nobody knew what the message was at all. It was a disaster from beginning to end." Mr Whelan, the political director of the Unite union, which is a major Labour donor, added: "Peter wasn't focused on the campaign at all. Clearly his only thoughts were for his book." Another key ally of Mr Brown said: "Why on earth does Peter want to pick this moment to dredge up all this stuff from the past and divide the party again? We are just starting to hurt the Tories on cuts, we've got a leadership contest which is energising and unifying the party – and now this book comes out. It beggars belief."
Lord Mandelson last night faced questions over alleged failures to declare a series of potentially questionable interests. In a Sunday Telegraph investigation, almost a dozen past or present employees of Medley Global Advisors, a consultancy providing "inside information" to hedge funds, claimed that the then MP had a long-term relationship with the firm. "I can confirm he was paid," said one former employee with access to payment records while another said that the then Mr Mandelson delivered "intelligence" on the plans of the British Government. Lord Mandelson has denied the allegations.
This newspaper also reveals that Mr Brown personally railed at the "treachery" of the former business secretary after he discovered last autumn that Lord Mandelson was going over his head to canvass support among European leaders in his attempt to win a top EU job. The fallout from the row soured relations between the two men once again, badly affecting Labour's general election planning and effectively ending any chance of the party achieving a fourth-successive victory.
the Telegraph
the Telegraph
