ANNEX C
Letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner
for Standards from the Rt Hon John Redwood MP
I am writing to ask you to make further enquiries
into the interests of Mr Peter Mandelson MP, to clear up the substantial
comment about what he should have registered.
Recent press coverage has argued that the loan he
received from Mr Robinson was on favourable terms. There is still
a lack of clarity about how much interest was paid and when, and
what the conditions were for the repayment of the loan. I presume
that any favourable term that could not be obtained commercially
in the marketplace on a loan of this size would warrant registration.
There are now also stories that Mr Mandelson has
been the beneficiary of at least one free flight. I would like
you to examine the circumstances surrounding this so you can come
to a judgement about whether such a generous gift should also
have been registered. It might also help if Mr Mandelson were
asked to make a full statement of any such gifts he has received
so that all of the unresolved issues can be sorted out at the
same time.
The opposition has raised a number of questions about
these matters, but we appreciate the need for an independent judgement
on what is reasonable and what is not. We thought that a commercial
loan was not usually a matter for registration, but one outside
normal commercial terms would be. We also assume that free long
haul flights are costly gifts and should be registered.
29 December 1998
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