A third Rothschilds letter?

Guido has heard the same rumours that we have. There may be a third draft of Nathaniel Rothschild's letter to The Times about George Osborne. The first letter that was posted on The Times' website early yesterday evening was withdrawn and a clarifying letter posted in its place. But the second letter might not be Mr Rothschild's final word.

With apologies to Oscar Wilde but to have to amend the letter once looks unfortunate. To have to amend twice looks like carelessness.

Comments

[Tony Sharp]

Given the serious nature of the accusation levelled against George Osborne and Andrew Feldman, if there is another draft then it should be made public in the interests of transparency.

[Iain]

Robert Peston seems to be in close contact with Nathaniel Rothschild, for he is repeating his charge against Osborne and saying he has a freind to support his allegation.

[JonTheHague]

I feel that Peston now has a personal vendetta against Osbourne.

[Iain]

With all the various threads of this story there needs to be a recap...

Have I got this correct...

Robert Peston is smarting from the Conservatives reporting him to the SFO for his reporting on the banking crisis. His source could be close to home like his father ...Baron Peston of Mile End, who founded the economics department at Queen Mary College, London, and advised various government departments and Labour Secretaries of State from the 1960s through to the 1990s.

Mandelson looking even against Osborne for revealing Mandelson's expressed loathing of Brown, from their restaurant meeting.

Nathaniel Rothschild, unhappy that questions have been asked about his guests, especially Mr Deripaska who it is said is an important client of Nathaniel Rothschild.

Mr Deripaska could be unhappy that his many meetings with Mandelson have become public, especially in light of the benefit his companies got from Mandelson rulings as EU Trade Commissioner.

The Rothschilds are most likely to profit from the Bank bail outs.

Mrs Rothscild helps fund Osborne’s office.

[RichardJ]

This is ridiculous, it's like a bunch of children squabbling.

[ACT]

So the current absurd 'Roon lie-to-take is: it's perfectly reasonable for MPs to attempt to use criminal law to silence journalists they think are saying politically unhelpful things? Yeah, because all of you currently abusing Peston would of course be saying *exactly* the same thing were the position reversed. If Labour MPs were trying to use the courts to shut up a hack saying things Brown disliked, you'd all be cheering that on? Grow up. Even by Michael Howard's miserably low standards, this has been a wretched, puke-making diversion.

As far as the triform letter goes - you don't for a moment think that it evolved various incarnations - from disptach to publication - because of Osborne's risible, but naturally still, last thing before offstone, partially effective threats of legal action? Raally, you don't? Well, aren't you going to enjoy reading the full, unexpurgated version then. Though George ain't.

[john]

Peston wasn't challenged at all on PM by Eddie Mair as he gleefully suggested Rothschild had a witness and would testify in court against Osborne.
Did Peston have an axe to grind?
Is he now the political correspondent?
No questions from Eddie "Mr Integrity" Mair.

[ACT]

Was Peston supposed *not* to tell this fairly salient detail (you know, that there are witnesses)? Had this been a story about a Labour frontbencher mired in comparable amounts of sleaze, should a hack have left telling details out of his report? Especially a journalist who, as your ludicrous logic runs, had been attacked by Labour MPs and threatened by them with the courts because he had previously said things they didn't like? OMG. Actually it's no longer Osborne Must Go, it's now Osborne Will Go.

[Libertarian]

Peston's motives are irrelevant. Too many posters want to shoot the messenger. The Standard has reported that Osborne has admitted that he and Feldman discussed donations on the Russian billionaire's yacht - http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23575498-details/Osborne+present+at+donation+talks/article.do.

[dogface]

Will somebody please explain what criminal or improper act Osborne has committed? If somebody offers a donation and suggests a possible way round the ban on foreign donations, and you politely explain why this is not acceptable, is this a sinister "discussion" on your part? Are you vilified for courtesy nowadays?

[Sandy Jamieson]

Remember Peston's father is a Labour Peer.

[Paul Johnston]

Iain@1705 has the nearest to the right of it that I can come to. There is, of course, no evidence that Deripaska was offering any money or was asked for it. A discussion about party fundraising, even in Corfu, isn't a criminal offence, and that's all that anyone can say for sure took place. But idle speculation has been seized upon and increasingly reported as fact, and not only by Peston, but other BBC journalists as well.

George Osborne should be more discreet and perhaps perceptive about his friends.

This story has all the hallmarks of a New Labour character assassination operation mid-1990s style. The only thing we need to note is that Mandy and Alistair are back! And that, just as earlier, they have a willing audiennce in Wood Lane. Only Paxman treated the whole thing with the scepticism it deserves.