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I spoke to Peter Mandelson many times while he served as Business Secretary at the height of the banking crisis. But I would never have suspected he was involved in any of the things he is now accused of. He was probably the most charming man in Westminster. Smooth as silk, Lord Mandelson was impossible to dislike - despite his reputation as the "Prince of Darkness".

Lord Mandelson even worked his magic on Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister at the time, who had once been his arch-enemy. Mandy, as he was known at Westminster, backed Tony Blair in the civil wars that gripped Labour during this period - known as the "TB-GBs", after the two main participants - and Brown appeared to hate him. So it shocked Westminster when Lord Mandelson joined Mr Brown's Cabinet as Business Secretary in October 2008.

But by June 2009, Mandelson had gained the additional title of "First Secretary of State", reflecting his role as Mr Brown's unofficial deputy and the close relationship that developed between the pair.

His efforts weren't enough to prevent Labour losing the May 2010 general election, but he gave every appearance of doing his best to support Mr Brown loyally.

We now know that Lord Mandelson was friends with Jeffrey Epstein during this period. For example, he is thought to have stayed at the disgraced financier's Manhattan apartment in 2008, while Epstein was serving an 18-month jail sentence after pleading guilty for soliciting prostitution and soliciting a minor.

And Mr Brown fears that Lord Mandelson may have passed on government secrets to his friend - at a particularly sensitive time, because the world was gripped by a banking crash that threatened to bring down major economies. Mr Brown, who led the global response to the crisis, has asked the Cabinet Secretary to investigate "the disclosure of confidential and market sensitive information".

The former Prime Minister this week called for an "intensive enquiry to take place into the wholly unacceptable disclosure of government papers and information during the period when the country was battling the global financial crisis".

But when I met Mandelson, I would have sworn butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. There was nothing fake about him - or, perhaps, we was just a brilliant actor. He was unfailingly kind, courteous and helpful

I was the lobby correspondent for regional newspapers in the West Midlands, and during this period Lord Mandelson made a huge effort to speak to us about the impact of the banking crisis the area I covered. We discussed the Government's support for the car industry, for example.

"I seem to speak to the Birmingham Post rather a lot" he once told me. And he did - even though there were people far more important than me he could have spent his time with.