London, Nov 08: Peter Mandelson, who was twice forced from the British Cabinet amid accusations of improper financial dealings, denied today that Prime Minister Tony Blair had offered him the job of EU Commissioner. Mandelson, a political soulmate of Blair, continues to play an important behind-the-scenes role in British politics.

"If it were true that I had been offered this job, I would have been informed of it," he told the today programme on BBC Radio 4. "I haven't."

The ‘Daily Mail’ reported last month that Blair was considering appointing Mandelson to the commission to replace Neil Kinnock, one of the two British representatives on the Brussels executive, who is in charge of administrative reform. Mandelson, a member of Parliament, is strongly pro-European.


He resigned as secretary of trade and industry in 1999 and as Northern Ireland secretary in 2001 after becoming embroiled in apparent financial improprieties. Bureau Report