The original claims were that key Labour Party aides are now employed by lobbying firms and earn thousands of pounds a month by exploiting their contacts with Whitehall and Westminster. The paper reported boasts by such individuals that they passed confidential government information to companies and offered meetings with ministers. One of the central figures in the story is Derek Draper, who had played a key role in Tony Blair's election victory. However, the faxes had not, in fact, been sent by Mandelson, as the headline claimed, but by one of his aides, who had no access to confidential documents. The prime minister's office insisted that only press releases, copies of speeches and published documents could have been passed on.
Lobbyists are part of political life in Britain.
No criminal charges have been brought so far. No government minister is being accused of taking money to advance business interests. On a recent late night television show Will Hutton, the paper's editor, explained his concerns. Hutton warned of future danger if the government continued to operate in a small circle of business leaders, newspaper editors and spin-doctors, excluding those like the trade unions, charities and groups dealing with poverty and exclusion who play a vital role in ensuring social stability and cohesion. On the other are corporations desperate to get their hooks into a new administration.