Mandelson claims he is plot victim

Geoffrey Robinson claims he has no ill-will towards Peter Mandelson

By BBC News Online political correspondent Nick Assinder.

With friends like Geoffrey Robinson, Peter Mandelson doesn't need any enemies.

The former paymaster general insists he bears no malice towards Mr Mandelson, yet with each extract from his new book he plunges the knife deeper into his former colleague.

The first instalment, serialised in Monday's Daily Mail, saw him insisting Mr Mandelson had actively solicited a £373,000 home loan from him - in direct contradiction to what Mr Mandelson told the Commons committee on standards.

Now, in the second extract, he claims the Northern Ireland secretary has been whipping up cabinet divisions over Europe, particularly between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

As with the first instalment, the core claims are damaging enough to the government. But it is the wider implications of what the former minister reveals that are probably the most harmful.

Mr Robinson has painted a picture of a government split down the middle over Europe - the issue which has real potential to destroy governments - and riven with personal animosities and back-biting.

There have been numerous previous suggestions to that effect, but this is the first time a former minister has given them real credibility.

Anti-gay plot

And, as if to confirm the image, Mr Mandelson has broken his silence to launch a withering assault on his ex-friend.

According to the Daily Mirror Mr Mandelson has "told friends" - often a code for "told the Daily Mirror" - that Mr Robinson is being manipulated in a plot against him driven, in part, by homophobia.

It is an extraordinary statement on two fronts. First it suggests Mr Mandelson really believes there are people out to get him - and he certainly has his fair share of political enemies in the Labour Party.

But it is also the first time he has publicly voiced such fears. After all, most Labour MPs view Mr Mandeslon as the arch-plotter.

And it adds to the impression that there are huge vendettas within Labour that may be getting in the way of the business of running the country.

But it is also the first time Mr Mandelson has allowed his sexuality to become a matter of public comment. In the past he has always been hugely sensitive about the subject.

This is all great stuff for the Conservatives, of course, and William Hague has lost no time in demanding a fresh inquiry into the loans-for-homes affair.

He claims the Robinson revelations show the government is "rotten" and that it is time Mr Blair got a grip on his ministers - particularly Mr Mandelson.

Meanwhile, Downing Street has swiftly rubbished the latest claims and there is no doubt that Mr Mandelson still enjoys Tony Blair's absolute confidence.

But what must be seriously worrying the government is the gradual, corrosive effect the Robinson - ond other - revelations are having on its image and standing.

The details of Mr Robinson's allegations may rapidly fade. But the danger for Tony Blair is that image will last.