Britain's most senior civil servant intervened to stop Peter Mandelson grabbing the formal title of Deputy Prime Minister, Whitehall sources said last night. Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O’Donnell vetoed the move, insisting it would be wrong to give so much power to an unelected peer. The embarrassing disclosure came after a Downing Street mix-up over Labour’s ‘stand-in PMs’, who are filling in for Mr Brown while he takes a four-week break. Acting up: Mandelson fills in for Gordon Brown from Monday Deputy Labour leader Ms Harman, who stood in for Mr Brown last week, went on holiday on Friday but Lord Mandelson is not due back from his break in Corfu until lunchtime tomorrow. The peer angrily denied that he had refused to cut short his holiday and blamed No10 for the confusion, claiming he had agreed weeks ago with Mr Brown that his turn at the helm would start tomorrow. When he returned to the Government last year Lord Mandelson was given a massive Whitehall empire plus the little-used Whitehall title of First Secretary, making him Deputy Prime Minister in all but name. Running the country: Lord Mandelson greets billionaire David Geffen on the Rising Sun super yacht in Corfu He also has a 34-word title, sits on half of all Cabinet committees and last week, Treasury Minister Stephen Timms became the 11th Minister to report to him and his ever-growing empire. However, if he had had his way, he would be the fully fledged Deputy PM. The Mail on Sunday has been told Lord Mandelson and Mr Brown discussed giving him the title, but dropped the plan after Sir Gus warned it was unconstitutional and could cause a backlash. Power walk: Mandelson denied that he had refused to cut short his Corfu holiday to fill in for Mr Brown A Cabinet Office spokeswoman for Sir Gus said: ‘It is for the Prime Minister to make ministerial appointments.’ Asked if Sir Gus had vetoed Lord Mandelson’s appointment as Deputy PM, she added: ‘We never comment on any advice from the Cabinet Secretary to the Prime Minister.’ A spokesman for Lord Mandelson said: ‘We do not comment on these matters.’ The last official Deputy Prime Minister was John Prescott in Tony Blair’s Government. Tory jitters over Lord Mandelson’s growing dominance emerged yesterday after they vowed to stop a law-change to allow life peers to retire from the Lords. There were reports that Lord Mandelson could use the law to quit the Lords, make a Commons comeback and challenge Mr Brown as Labour leader. Confusion and controversy over who is running the country is likely to continue through the summer as a result of Labour’s ‘pass-the-parcel’ leadership system. Mr Brown is not due back in No10 until September. Lord Mandelson is to hand over the reins of power next week to Chancellor Alistair Darling, who is expected to run the country from his Scotland home. He will be followed by the fourth temporary PM, Justice Secretary Jack Straw. But Downing Street dismissed claims of chaos. ‘The Prime Minister remains in control. It is nonsense to suggest that because No10 is not occupied on a particular day, no one is in control.’
Peter Mandelson demanded Deputy’s title... But was thwarted by Britain's top civil servant
Last updated at 11:16 AM on 09th August 2009
Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1205280/Peter-Mandelson-demanded-Deputy-s-title--But-thwarted-Britains-civil-servant.html#ixzz0NgLtfBWz
Sunday, 9 August 2009
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