Original sentence: The tasks of dealing with these  difficulties within a very restricted timescale caused Mackintosh great anxiety, and the ensuing muddles together with public relations failures caused "an unpleasant feeling with regard to the Expedition" among the Australian public
Edited sentence: The tasks of dealing with these  difficulties within a very restricted timescale caused Mackintosh great anxiety, and although he was not to blame, the ensuing muddles caused "an unpleasant feeling with regard to the Expedition" among the Australian public