"entirely coincidental" I am sure

The FT reports that:

"Lord Mandelson met Colonel Gaddafi’s son at a Corfu villa only a week before the announcement that the perpetrator of the Lockerbie bombing could be released from prison...

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, widely seen as the Libyan leader’s most likely successor, was a fellow guest of the Rothschild family at its Greek property a fortnight ago in a wider annual gathering of powerful friends.

Stays by the two men overlapped by only one night, according to Lord Mandelson’s spokesman.

He said the pair spoke only briefly but they did discuss Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi. “There was a fleeting conversation about the prisoner; Peter was completely unsighted on the subject,” he said.

...

Lord Mandelson said through his spokesman that he had had no involvement in the decision and only learnt of it through the BBC. Mr Megrahi’s possible release was a decision entirely for the Scottish government rather than London.

“It was entirely coincidental,” the spokesman said. "

It is odd how confusion and peculiar incidents of synchronicity seem to follow Peter Mandelson around; it is almost as if his whole being attracts controversy, rather like s**t attracts flies.

The best line in the FT's report is this one:

"news of the meeting could renew questions about Lord Mandelson’s affinity for rich and powerful individuals and his ability to create controversy."

Now that's journalistic understatement!

Talking of journalism there is currently no mention of this odd meeting on the BBC news website. Somehow I think that if George Osborne had met Colonel Gaddafi's son the BBC would have plastered the news all over their website.