Mandelson silent on past contacts with Russian

Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, has rejected pressure to disclose all his contacts with the Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska. His entry in the House of Lords register of interests, published yesterday, makes no mention of Mr Deripaska or the hospitality he enjoyed on the Russian's yacht in Corfu in August, which took place before he rejoined the Cabinet.

Under a code of conduct, ministers in the House of Lords should disclose hospitality worth more than £1,000. Opposition parties had urged Lord Mandelson to publish a full record of his meetings with Mr Deripaska while he was the European Union's trade commissioner, after he admitted meeting the billionaire in 2004, two years earlier than previously thought.

Lord Mandelson said yesterday that he had never discussed aluminium tariffs with Mr Deripaska, whose business benefited from a reduction in European Union tariffs.