Peter Hoskin

The Tories fight back

The Tories aren’t going to take Peter Mandelson’s claims lying down, if Dominic Grieve’s interview with Sky News is anything to go by.  The shadow home secretary has just said he thinks Mandy is unfit for office:

“This morning, Lord Mandelson has been banging on about national security.  We don’t believe there is any national security angle to it at all. This is fantasy land, being spun by Peter Mandelson.  This is what worries me so much.  The political element keeps on creeping back in. I don’t trust Peter Mandelson.  I don’t think he should be in political office, I don’t think he’s fit for it.”

Many will be sympathetic to Greive’s claims, but I’m not sure how much the Tories should push this issue at the moment.  There’s a sense that Mandelson has tried to make himself the story this morning; perhaps to deflect heat away from others in his party.  The opposition parties shouldn’t let this distract from the wider implications and questions surrounding the Damian Green arrest.

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