The latest two witnesses to testify to parliament over Peter Mandelson’s appointment had plenty to offer headline writers. “A toxic hot potato” was how Philip Barton, the former top civil servant in the Foreign Office, described Mandelson’s links with Jeffrey Epstein, a view he would have shared with Downing Street if only he had been asked.
“A knife through my soul” was how Morgan McSweeney, the prime minister’s former chief adviser, described the moment he found out the true nature of Mandelson’s relationship with the convicted child sex offender.
