Politics

What does Jon Mendelsohn know? Enough, it seems, to keep his job. There was muffled laughter in the house when Brown said a “former bishop of Oxford” would look into all this. Who else? Graham Norton? Cameron did well venting incredulity that Brown would use the old Blair-style inquiry device to kick this into the long grass. Good to see Brown had Harman beside him. Dumping on her seemed cowardly. Perhaps, he has finally decided that he needs to start standing up for his Cabinet rather than using them as human shields. Cameron was right about 155 days of incompetence and asking if Brown was simply not up for the

I wonder whose turn it will be today to ask the planted PMQs question so Brown can apologise to Labour, rather than the Tories, as he did last week over disc-gate. That was Hoon’s brainwave, but any brownie points he earned will have been destroyed by his disastrous Newsnight interview  where he exculpated Jon Mendelson, whom Brown personally appointed as Labour’s chief general election fundraiser. It is Mendelson who is now at the centre of the storm over his knowledge of these donations. Brown needs to stand up today and announce that Mendelson has gone. But here’s what puzzles me. Did he demand absolute candour from Mendelson? As chancellor, Brown

Nick Robinson sets out what he believes Jon Mendelson knew and when he knew it in this blog entry. The series of events as laid out raises serious questions about Mendelson’s judgement Mendelson is a Brown appointee and if he remains in post, and Sky is reporting that the Brown camp are inclined to protect him, then Brown is effectively endorsing the way that he handled this business. If Brown wants to avoid having to defend Mendelson, then he’ll have to dismiss him before noon.