In Peter Mandelson evidence, Cat Little had the best weapon: an audit trail

Cat Little answering questions in Westminster on Thursday. Her account was given with little drama, but could create a real headache for Robbins. Photograph: PRU/AFP/Getty Images

Seen through the Westminster bubble, the Peter Mandelson vetting affair looks like an age-old conflict pitting ministers against mandarins. Yet the latest top civil servant to testify to parliament over what some are now calling “Mandygate” gave an intriguing account that suggested it has never been as simple as that.

Cat Little, the top civil servant at the Cabinet Office, did not put it in these terms, but what she revealed was an extraordinary dispute between the country’s most senior civil servants.