Brown denies Mandelson 'did a final favour for Russian oligarch Deripaska'

Gordon Brown last night brushed aside new allegations about Lord Mandelson's links to Russia's richest man.

The Prime Minister said all of his Business Secretary's dealings with Oleg Deripaska had been above board'.

Lord Mandelson is under growing pressure to detail in full his meetings with the aluminium tycoon. It emerged yesterday that his last act as EU trade commissioner was to advocate rule changes which could benefit Mr Deripaska.  

Five days before his Cabinet recall, he set out plans for a trade strategy giving multinationals freer access to raw materials. Mr Deripaska's firm, Rusal, imports aluminium from Africa and India.

A summer visit by Lord Mandelson to the oligarch's luxury yacht has led to questions over a potential conflict of interest. Corporate Europe Observatory, a campaign group, has written to the EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso complaining of the 'undue influence' business leaders had over policy during Lord Mandelson's spell in Brussels.

Lord Mandelson insisted yesterday that he had done Mr Deripaska no favours.

'A lot has been said about the relationship I have with one particular Russian businessman,' he said before heading to trade talks in Moscow.

'All I would say about that is that he has never asked for any favours, I have never given him any favours and that is what the European Commission in their examination of the issue has very firmly put on record.'

Last night, British officials withdrew Mr Deripaska's name from the guest list for a reception at the British embassy in Moscow hosted by Lord Mandelson.

They said the move was routine and not a question of saving the peer from embarrassment.

Mr Brown gave Lord Mandelson, who has twice been forced to resign from the Cabinet, his unqualified backing on BBC Scotland's Politics Show yesterday. 

'When these things are investigated by the authorities, and the authorities say there's nothing to look at, nothing causing a problem, then unless people have any other evidence it should be left,' he said.

'To be honest we should be getting on with the work helping Scottish and British people through these difficult times in the fairest possible way.'

George Osborne was dragged into the affair last week after his former friend Nat Rothschild revealed he discussed a donation from Mr Deripaska in Corfu this summer. Since then the Shadow Chancellor has published a full account of all his dealings with the tycoon.

Lord Mandelson was forced to admit this weekend that he had known Mr Deripaska since 2004, years earlier than he had previously stated and ahead of his signing off of a reduction of EU tariffs.

His spokesman in Brussels has claimed the two 'never, ever' discussed any of his business dealings. 

But William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, said it appeared the Business Secretary had something to hide. 

'We, and I think the whole country, do want to know, transparently, about the meetings that have happened and what was discussed at them and whether they ever discussed aluminium tariffs and so on,' he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show. 

'If Peter Mandelson could put the record straight on that then I think the media could move on to these immense issues of what is happening now with a recession in this country and these immense issues of foreign policy.' 

Tony Blair's former spin doctor Alastair Campbell, who has been brought back into the fold by Mr Brown, insisted Lord Mandelson's return to Government was good for Labour. 

'Gordon needs some big hitters around and Peter is a big hitter,' Mr Campbell said yesterday.

He confirmed he was advising Mr Brown and refused to deny speculation that the Prime Minister had offered him a peerage and a job as a minister. 

Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said yesterday that ordinary voters were more concerned about the economy than 'gossip'. 

'It's the bread and butter issues people are concerned with, not the rarefied high life,' she said. 

'Meetings between rich people on Greek islands don't have a bearing on ordinary people's lives(sic). To be honest, we have far more important things to concentrate on.' continues here

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