Mandelson 'misleading' on loan

Robinson: Accused of using the saga to sell his book

Peter Mandelson misrepresented the way his notorious £373,000 home loan was obtained, according to the man who gave it to him.

The Northern Ireland secretary has always maintained he did not ask former paymaster general Geoffrey Robinson for the money.

I felt I ought to give my own account of it and that's precisely what I have done

Geoffrey Robinson

But in extracts from his memoirs, published in the Daily Mail, Mr Robinson denies proffering the cash and insists it was Mr Mandelson who first raised the subject of buying a house in Notting Hill.

The millionaire Labour MP has defended his version of events, insisting he was not acting out of bitterness.

Mr Robinson told the BBC he also stood by claims in his book that Mr Mandelson is a "divisive and destabilising figure".

Shadow Trade and Industry minister David Heathcoat-Amory has called for the affair to be reinvestigated by the Commons watchdog, which examined the loan when it came to light two years ago.

But a spokesman for Prime Minister Tony Blair played down the affair as "pretty flat froth".

He said: "Books like this cause the usual excitement in the media and at Westminster, but we are far more interested in tackling issues such as crime, education, health and the economy."

Mandelson: 'Divisive and destabilising'

At that time Mr Mandelson was condemned for misleading his building society by not declaring the loan on his mortgage application.

He resigned from the Cabinet in December 1998 as a result - only returning to the front bench 10 months later. Mr Robinson also quit his office and remains on the backbenches.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he was not accusing Mr Mandelson of lying, but that there was clearly a "marked difference of opinion" between them.

Mr Mandelson's account of the affair "did quite frankly imply that I put him up to it in some sort of way, gave the impression that I might be the sort of person who might use my means, my money, to buy influence, power, even office".

I have never suggested or implied that he forced a loan on me. Nothing would be more ridiculous

Peter Mandelson

"I felt I ought to give my own account of it and that's precisely what I have done."

But Mr Mandelson hit back immediately, insisting he had never "suggested or implied" the loan had been forced on him.

He said he now considered the whole matter closed.

Mr Robinson said the possibility of a loan first came up at a dinner in 1996, when Mr Mandelson spoke of needing help to buy a residence in Notting Hill and he replied he could help if necessary.

"The next morning at nine o'clock the phone rang and it was Peter saying quite openly 'would you really help me buy a house', to which I replied 'yes, if that's what you want'.

"I think the fact that he re-initiated the discussion the following day shows that it was really Peter that was taking the lead in these matters and scotches any idea of my trying to put him up to it," he said.

'No ill will'

Insisting he personally bore Mr Mandelson no ill will, Mr Robinson said that at the same time the Northern Ireland secretary played a role "that isn't always conducive to the administration of good government".

He had a way of "re-opening" issues in public that had already been settled by the government, such as Europe.

The loan helped Mr Mandelson buy this Notting Hill house

"If he can cut out the briefings and the de-stabilising elements... if he can be his own man, speak from his own corner and to his own brief I believe he would be a very outstanding politician."

Speaking immediately after the comments had been broadcast, Mr Mandelson said his version of events at the 1996 dinner was that Mr Robinson, as a longstanding friend, "volunteered his financial help if needed".

"I later took him up on his offer and I was grateful to him.

"I have never suggested or implied that he forced a loan on me. Nothing would be more ridiculous."

But Mr Heathcoat-Amory said: "It now seems that Peter Mandelson did not tell the whole truth in evidence."