HOON, BYERS, MORAN & HEWITT CAUGHT OFFERING INFLUENCE-FOR-CASH

MANDELSON IMPLICATED IN BYERS RECORDING

Well done the Sunday Times and Channel Four for beating the others to this one. After a fortnight in which occasional tittle-tattle had been filtering into Slogger’s Roost about several New Labour graft-merchants still at large, this unlikely pairing have once more confirmed that the ‘tiny minority’ who are on the take is….rather a lot more than that.

But fair’s fair: The Slogger did warn New Labour twice that drivelling on about Ashcroft was a strategy likely to explode in their faces. On the second occasion, Lord Peter was singled out for the yellow card, but ignored a perfectly clear request to cease and desist.

As it is, Mandy now finds himself fingered by Byers (unconsciously) and deep in the doo-doo for the third time in his cloud-covered career. For in the recordings, Byers boasts of his access to the Minister for Funny Business, with specific examples:

‘Byers also claimed he could use his friendship with Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, as his “trump card” to squash government plans that did not suit his clients.

On one occasion Byers says he phoned Mandelson to put a stop to “massively bureaucratic” food labelling regulations after he had been contacted by Tesco. “Peter got it delayed and then got it amended,” Byers said.

This is where proper (but expensive) journalism will always score over the Guido Fawkes’s of this world. For while the Gunpowder Man is busily kitting himself out for ‘proper’ status as a political news medium, this kind of operation takes major resources – certainly, resources that are several leagues above mine. Folks like me are reduced to innuendo: but Newscorp and Channel Four have found so many smoking guns with this one, it’s a wonder they could see to get out safely afterwards.

However, what I can reveal is that seven Tory MPs were also contacted. Although two accepted an invitation to talk about ’employment’, five didn’t – and nothing improper was said on camera. I’d be willing to bet that Krishnan Guru-Murthy wasmore than a little disappointed about that.

And Mandy? Oh, his face will be as bare as ever, his tongue just as forked, his demeanour just as sagaciously sanctimonious. But nobody will believe him.