IT IS unclear how much political harm Labour may suffer for setting only short sentences for offences of sleaze, as Tony Blair restores Peter Mandelson to the Cabinet just 10 months after he was toppled by his fishy home-loan scandal.

But in bringing him back and appointing him Northern Ireland Secretary - at a time when the Ulster peace process still hangs by a thread - it is evident that the Prime Minister does not want to waste the ability of his clever colleague any longer.

And if the talents of Mr Mandelson - arguably the man who did more than any other to turn Labour from being a lost cause into a government of huge popularity and power - can rescue Northern Ireland, whatever taint may come with the Prime Minister's condonation of sleaze, then the verdict may be that a greater good has been served.

But solving the vexed problems of Ulster will require more than spin and charm and Mandelson will need all his political prowess to vindicate his swift return from the wilderness.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.