Laura

Of course, or else it would completely fall over.

Nobody would ever put themselves forward for it.

But in these controversial circumstances, the charge is twofold.

One, how did he make that decision in the first place?

But two, how did he then allow senior people in this country, including the prime minister, to say misleading things to the public that suggested that Peter Mandelson...

had passed all the rate checks.

Let's listen to what Sir Simon MacDonald said.

He's somebody who did that same job.

So in times gone by, he was also the civil service boss at the Foreign Office.

And he was trying to explain where Ollie Robbins might have been coming from on the Today programme this morning.

So what Simon McDonald is suggesting there, Paddy, this picture is much more complicated than one piece of paper that had a big red cross against Peter Mandelson's name that Ollie Robbins tore up and chucked in the bin and said, nevermind, he can have the job anyway.

And it's complicated for quite a few different reasons.

First off, as you say, and I think this is probably the most important one, Keir Starmer had already announced that Peter Mandelson was going to be the American ambassador to the States.

The notion of that had been sold to Donald Trump's new White House.

For anyone, therefore, to say, oh, stick the brakes on, we can't do this, could have caused a really big political ruction.

It would have been embarrassing for the prime minister.

It might have angered the Trump White House.

Remember at that stage how carefully Keir Starmer was trying to build a relationship with the flamboyant maverick with a troubled past?

the president on his way back to the White House by sending him a flamboyant maverick with a troubled past who he'd concluded was the best man for the job.

So imagine what kind of reaction there might have been if Peter Mandelson's appointment had been torn up and chucked out.