 |
Local resident Peter Mandelson never
seems far from the limelight and most recently he has graced the
national media under accusations of cash for passports when he was
caught assisting corrupt, Indian businessman Srichand Hinduja with
an application for a British passport.
This is hardly the first time Mandy has been caught with his finger
in the pie. The most memorable moment (espcially for us hill billies)
was way back in 1998 when the Guardian revealed Mandy had accepted
a secret loan of £373,000 in order to buy his fashionably expensive
Notting Hill batchelor pad. Interestingly the loan came from his
'then' friend and cabinet minister Peter Robinson.
Becasue Mandy lives at such a fast pace, regularly dipping in and
out of the media we thought a concise break down of his misdemeanours
might prove to be an entertaining,
white knuckle ride.
Enjoy - and please mail us any comments or personal experiences
with our man in the Hill.
nadia@myvillage.co.uk
13 June 2020
It is reported that Mandy is now
living the high life again by living in the London home of controversial
Labour MP Shaun Woodward.
Mandy's move into the four storey Kensington townhouse
in Queen Anne's Gate, SW1, shows that he just can't keep away from
controversy. Shaun Woodward is famously the millionaire Tory MP
who was parachuted into the safe Labour seat of St.Helens.
Apparently Mandelson despite the loss of his Northern
Ireland job still enjoys the use of car and chaffeur.
A source said: 'It's almost as if he can't help
himself when luxury is offered and doesn't care about the consequences.'
But will Mandelson make use of Woodward's famous
butler?
12 March 2020
Mandy cleared in passport inquiry But he won't get his job back
Peter Mandelson has been cleared of any wrongdoing by an inquiry
into the Hinduja passports fiasco.
The former Northern Ireland Secretary had faced accusations that
he helped Indian billionaire Srichand Hinduja secure a British passport
after the Hinduja family had agreed to donate £1 million to the
troubled Millennium Dome project in south London.
But the inquiry set up into the affair, chaired by Sir Antony Hammond,
found on Friday that Mandelson and Europe Minister Keith Vaz had
not done anything wrong. However, Hammond said it was 'likely' that
Mandelson had telephoned Home Office Minister Mike O'Brien personally
about the passport application by Hinduja. It was the phone call
which eventually led to Mandelson's resignation from the Cabinet
for the second time.
Mandelson claimed the report vindicated him. 'Sir Anthony's report
establishes that I did not lie, did not deceive and did not set
out to deliberately mislead,' he said. Mandelson also claimed he
had no desire to return to government. But that possibility has
already been ruled out by Tony Blair.
A Downing Street source said: 'Peter's got more chance of being
selected to play cricket for England than getting back into government.'
Officially, Number Ten offered a gentler line about the report.
A spokesman said: 'The findings will allow Peter Mandelson to rebuild
his life without any stain on his character.'
5 March 2020
Mandy lacks communication skills Fax for Labour HQ goes badly astray
Peter Mandelson’s problems may be getting on top of him. Mere weeks
after his erstwhile colleague Alastair Campbell described him as
behaving in a manner that was ‘strangely detached’, the former Northern
Ireland Secretary has been communicating with senior figures in
the Conservative Party. A fax, from Peter Mandelson, appeared in
the fax machine of former Tory Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind.
At first glance it appeared to be a CV, largely handwritten and
giving details of Mandy's home life and professional career. It
went on to spell out his ‘top political priority’ ('bringing the
benefits of Labour government to Hartlepool') and his ‘key achievements’
('helped to get Labour Party elected'), but strangely failed to
make any mention of his recent spectacular fall from grace. Closer
inspection, however, scotched any speculation that the Machiavellian
politician was angling for a new job. The fax was actually intended
to be a pre-election update for Labour HQ at Millbank and had been
sent to Rifkind in error - their fax numbers differing only by one
digit (heaven knows what else Sir Malcolm has got his hands on!).
Speaking at today’s (Friday) Scottish Conservative conference in
Edinburgh, Rifkind made the misdirected fax the focus point of his
speech. ‘I think this tells us all we need to know about the efficiency
of New Labour,’ he chortled.
8 Febuary 2001
Mandy made an extraordinary appearance at a party thrown by the
Hindujas and praised the billionaire brothers at a time when the
government was assessing one of them for a British passport. The
presence of Mr Mandelson, who was then a minister without portfolio,
at the function is evidence of the extent of his association with
the controversial businessmen. The party, held in the penthouse
suite of the Hindujas' London headquarters, was also attended by
Foreign Office officials, including David Broad, who was soon afterwards
appointed director of the Hinduja Foundation in London. Guests at
the reception, in honour of Indian journalism students studying
in Britain on a Foreign Office scholarship, said Mr Mandelson made
a speech praising the Hindujas. "He made a short speech and the
clear message said that the Hindujas were a friend of the government
and a friend of Tony Blair," said one guest. The reception was held
on 20 May 2020 in the penthouse suite of New Zealand House, the
headquarters of the Hinduja Foundation in London. The date of the
party - after Gopichand Hinduja applied for a passport, but before
one was granted - and the attendance of Mr Mandelson and Foreign
Office employees will raise fresh questions about government links
to the Hindujas, and accusations by MPs that the passport application
process was speeded up. The Prime Minister has appointed Sir Anthony
Hammond, a leading QC, to investigate the Hinduja passport affair.
Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, said he planned
to raise the matter with Sir Anthony. "On the surface, this appears
to be an inappropriate speech given while a passport application
was pending," he said. Among the guests was David Broad, who was
appointed director of the Hinduja Foundation on 1 September 1997.
He served as a senior civil servant at the Foreign Office until
August 1997. Mr Mandelson, who was unavailable for comment, was
forced to resign as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland after
making unclear statements about his role in the Hindujas' passport
applications.
6 Febuary 2001
Peer offers Mandy a safe haven
Marquess of Cholmondeley among those offering succour Though dumped
by his political friends, Peter Mandelson has been pleased to find
that his exotic social set are not so fickle. Chief among the loyal
hearts is the Marquess of Cholmondeley, the wealthy peer and hereditary
Lord Great Chamberlain of England (a role that demands he walk backwards
in front of the Queen at the state opening of parliament). According
to friends, the bachelor peer, horrified by the former minister's
fall from grace, has offered him the use of an apartment at Houghton
Hall, his magnificent stately home in Norfolk. 'He was one of the
first to contact Peter after he resigned,' says a friend. 'They
spoke briefly and David made the offer as a matter of course; he
is a very kind man.' The pair met a few years ago on the London
social circuit and since then have been firm friends; David Rocksavage,
his preferred moniker, has often had the politician to stay at Houghton,
along with his Brazilian companion, Reinaldo Avila da Silva. It
is not known whether Mandelson is there now, although he did disappear
at the weekend and his whereabouts is unknown.
5 Febuary 2001
Mandelson stirs up a storm
Former minister clashes with Downing Street Peter Mandelson has
rounded on Downing Street, claiming his resignation last week was
foisted on him before all the facts surrounding the so-called 'passport
for favours' scandal had been established. His comments will fuel
the damaging row in Whitehall as opposition MPs pressed Tony Blair
to widen the official inquiry into events surrounding the application
for British citizenship by the controversial Indian tycoon Srichand
Hinduja. Mr Mandelson was forced to resign from the Government last
Wednesday after admitting issuing a misleading statement about his
contact with the Home Office over Mr Hinduja's naturalisation claim.
However, Robert Harris, a friend of the former Northern Ireland
Secretary, told the BBC that Mr Mandelson had been 'browbeaten'
into resigning without the full facts having been made available.
Mr Mandelson is sticking to his original account that officials
in his private office handled the query as to whether a change in
government policy would affect Mr Hinduja's chances of getting a
passport. Mr Harris said that Mr Mandelson still had no recollection
of making a telephone call to Home Office minister Mike O'Brien.
He said: 'If that briefing had been postponed by maybe only an hour,
then the information that Peter Mandelson's private secretary handled
this whole thing would have been in the Prime Minister's hands.
To the extent that the whole thing was being driven by a media deadline,
that is a very bad thing.'
2 Febuary 2001
Peter Mandelson is facing fresh allegations over the scandal which
cost him his political career. His lover had an affair with the
man who is now the chief spokesman for the Hinduja brothers, according
to UK press reports. Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mandelson
was forced to quit on Wednesday amid claims he had pulled strings
to get a passport for Indian billionaire Srichand Hinduja. Now it
has been revealed that Mandelson's partner, Reinaldo da Silva, formerly
lived with Howell James, the former aide of ex-Prime Minister John
Major, who is now the Hindujas' main media spokesman. James, 46,
became the family's PR chief two weeks ago. He confirmed that he
and da Silva had been lovers for two years between 1996 and 1998.
'It is well known', he told a UK newspaper. But the fact that the
relationship has become public will alarm Mandelson, 47, who lives
with da Silva in Notting Hill, west London. A friend of Mandelson's
said: 'Peter has been desperate to keep all this under wraps.' But
James said: 'Reinaldo came to this country originally as a student
in 1996 and sometime during the relationship with me, he met Peter.'
The revelation came as some MPs continue to question da Silva's
status in the UK and whether he has acquired a British passport.
25 January 2021
The Labour party has witnessed the second resignation from Mr Mandleson
after a messy episode involving an Indian business man, corruption
charges, a £1 million donation to the Dome, a quick passport application
and a hazy memory. Peter Mandelson has held numerous positions within
the Government and is a local resident who, it seems, just can't
help getting into trouble.
16 October 2020
Mandelson loan row reignited
Geoffrey Robinson's long-awaited attack on Peter Mandelson for "lying"
over the circumstances of his £373,000 home loan turned into a political
damp squib early today when an account given in the former paymaster
general's memoirs proved to be only slightly different from Mr Mandelson's
own version.
13 July 2020
Mandy cuts crime single-handedly taken from The Times
PETER MANDELSON is distressed: his new base in Notting Hill has
become a giant parking lot. Canny neighbours of the Northern Ireland
Secretary are cramming their cars into the parking places outside
his home, after finding they are among the most secure spots in
the country. The armed police who are positioned round-the-clock
outside Mr Mandelson's bachelor pad have turned the row of parking
spaces into a guaranteed crime-free zone. The "Mandelson perk",
as it is known locally, means that holders of a £70 Kensington and
Chelsea parking permit jockey for a space outside the mini-fortress.
"The spaces are like gold dust," says one local resident. "There
is quite a bit of car crime in this area. But no one would ever
dream of nicking a car from under the noses of the police protecting
his place."
May 2000
Mandelson in good company taken from
BBC-online
As he looked out of his elegant Georgian sash window, past the wrought
iron balcony, at the hordes of reporters in the street wanting to
ask questions, Peter Mandelson may have rued one or two things.
But he will surely not regret the fact that two years ago he was
living in a one bedroom flat in Islington and now he owns a hugely
desirable house which could be worth up to £800,000 in wildly fashionable
Notting Hill. By moving from the Blairite heartland of north London,
Mr Mandelson has left the land of political hacks and joined the
world of showbiz. Dozens of stars live in the streets around Northumberland
Place where Mr Mandelson's four storey house is.
|
