Mandelson admits Blair persuaded him to return

Mr Blair persuaded Mandelson to return to cabinet

Sunday, 05, Oct 2008 04:33

It had been whispered since Friday following the shock announcement that Peter Mandelson had returned to the cabinet but finally the man himself admitted what many either knew already or believed to be true regardless of the facts.

Former prime minister Tony Blair had persuaded him to take the job.

Mr Mandelson finally admitted what may actually have been one of the worst kept secrets in Westminster in an interview with Sky News earlier today..

Mr Mandelson said the former prime minsiter had told him it was a "no brainer" to take the job offered to him by Gordon Brown despite their clear differences.

He said he had been "surprised" about the offer but thought it was the "right thing to do".

He also tried to address the concerns from many within his own party about his return, saying "we are all part of the same team now".

Meanwhile he praised Gordon Brown, saying he had "changed", and had a "very steady hand on the tiller".

Mr Mandelson said: "When times get tough, families pull together and that is what we are doing. It is all hands on deck."

He sought to play down rumours of a rift between him and schools secretary Ed Balls. It is believed Mr Balls tried to block his appointment at the 11th hour on Thursday evening apparently begging the prime minister not to appoint Mr Mandelson.

But Mr Mandelson said he had no problem at all with Mr Balls.

"We are all part of the same team now," he said. "It is what the party wants and what the country needs," he said.

Mr Mandelson also said he did not believe there had been a conspriacy to oust the prime minister in the last few months but added people were "concerned" about the direction of the party and whether it had the capacity to renew itself.

He also said Labour had to show it had the strength to steer the country through the economic downturn and come up with "new, imaginative ideas" to take the country forward.

"If I can play my part and make a contribution, that is what I want to do," he said.

But Conservative leader David Cameron told BBC One's The Politics Show that the appointment was a "pretty desperate move".

"We've got a government that is divided and dysfunctional, and I think this will make it more divided and more dysfunctional.

"For me, this is about trying to shore up the Labour Party; it's not trying to serve the country."

The Sunday Times also reported that Mr Mandelson had recently "dripped pure poison" about the prime minister to a senior Tory.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr show this morning shadow chancellor George Osborne admitted twice dining with Mr Mandelson recently but refused to confirm whether he was the Conservative in question or what had been said.

"I don't think what he told me was any different from what he's been telling anyone who's been having dinner with him in recent months," he said.