Mandelson inquiry will be inconclusive

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Mandelson inquiry will be inconclusive

Peter Mandelson's hope of returning to frontline politics could be dented by the second inquiry into the Hinduja affair.

A new report is unlikely to reverse the original finding by Sir Anthony Hammond that a telephone call between Mr Mandelson and another minister – about the Hinduja brothers' passport application – may have taken place.

The former Northern Ireland secretary has always maintained his officials contacted Mike O'Brien and that he did not. New papers submitted to Sir Anthony Hammond in a second inquiry are said to have supported this view.

But the inquiry, ordered by Downing Street, is expected to conclude that not enough evidence exists to overturn the original conclusion that a telephone call by Mr Mandelson was "likely" to have taken place. The first inquiry cleared the Hartlepool MP of any impropriety but raised question marks about the affair.

A second inquiry was ordered by Tony Blair after new evidence emerged about the phone call.

Fiona Jones, former MP for Newark, had come to Mr Mandelson's defence and submitted fresh evidence to Sir Anthony.

Ms Jones lost her seat at the last election. She was convicted of election expenses fraud in 1999 but her conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Ms Jones said she remembers being with Mr O'Brien in her Nottinghamshire constituency and overheard comments he made that raised doubts in her mind about whether he recalled speaking to Mr Mandelson on the phone.

But Mr O'Brien has consistently said he remembers talking to Mr Mandelson in 1998, even though the MP for Hartlepool says he has "no recollection" of a telephone call.

Mr Mandelson had been tipped as a future European commissioner or even a British ambassador to Washington.

Sir Anthony Hammond's inquiry has come under attack from opposition MPs who have criticised him for not interviewing the Hinduja brothers or members of their staff.

Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat spokesman on freedom of information, wrote to Tony Blair, calling into question the method of inquiry. In his letter, Mr Baker questioned how Sir Anthony could have got the full picture without collecting evidence from the Indian businessmen, who donated £1m to help the Millennium Dome, or considering other documents submitted by former Mandelson aides.