Letter: Mandelson is wrong

Sir: Just two days before Christmas, the season of good will to all men, another of our public figures has found out that such courtesies are rarely shown to politicians who make mistakes.

Since before the last election, Peter Mandelson has been a figure of hate for the press, Opposition and even some within the Labour Party. I had no particular opinion of Mr Mandelson before this event. But the all-too-familiar character assassination he has been subjected to over the last couple of days has left me feeling a great deal of sympathy for him.

For the sake of those who were so quick in judging him, and in the spirit of the season, I hope that they have no skeletons they would rather keep hidden. I also wish that we could all learn to be more understanding and tolerant of the mistakes of others.

TOBIAS MELIA

Crawley, West Sussex