ANNEX D
Extracts from letter to the Parliamentary
Commissioner for Standards from Mr Robert Henderson
"Complaint 1 Peter Mandelson
2. Mr Mandelson obtained a mortgage in excess
of 100,000 pounds from the Britannia Building Society. It appears
from newspaper and broadcast reports that Mr Mandelson falsely
completed the mortgage application form by declaring that he intended
to purchase the property without placing any other debt charges
on the property. In fact, he had arranged a loan of 373,000 pounds
from a friend, a Mr Geoffrey Robinson. There is a further possible
falsehood on the mortgage application form. Mr Mandelson may have
had another mortgage on a Clerkenwell flat at the time of the
Britannia mortgage application. In the light of his failure to
declare the Robinson loan, it is reasonable to suspect which he
may also have failed to declare the mortgage."
* * * * * *
"7. Mr Mandelson's claim that the Robinson
loan was a purely private transaction is invalidated by the fact
that a formal legal agreement was drawn up which not only stipulated
a rate of interest, but gave Geoffrey Robinson the right to put
a charge on the property at ninety days notice if repayments were
not made. Thus the loan was by definition a business arrangement."
* * * * * *
"10. Following from the fact of the material
advantages Mr Mandelson has received from Mr Robinson, I further
request that you investigate whether he has acted in a partial
way to benefit Mr Robinson, either in his promotion to ministerial
rank or in the DTI's investigation of Mr Robinson's business dealings.
11. In addition, I ask that you consider the
validity of Mr Mandelson's failure to (1) declare the loan on
the Member's Register of Interests and (2) the freebie flight
Mr Mandelson accepted from the businesswoman Linda Wachner, who
is involved in the marketing of products available in this country
such as Calvin Klein jeans and as such could conceivably have
received some beneficial treatment from Mr Mandelson as the minister
in charge of the DTI."
* * * * * *
"20. Finally, I ask you to look at the general
question of the propriety of MPs accepting large material favours
from one another."
29 December 1998
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