AROUND and round it goes, the Mandy merry-go-round of high profile names popping up in high-rolling restaurants, parties and, of course, boats. But some observers have noted that behind the war-of-words involving Peter Mandelson and George Osborne and the men in the middle, financier Nat Rothschild and oligarch Oleg Deripaska, another war is taking place, between the spin-doctors. What hasn’t been noted is that Portland, the pubic relations giant which acts on behalf on Deripaska’s interests in Britain, is also the bolt-hole for refugees from Tony Blair’s Downing Street bunker. Tim Allan, who founded the company after six years as policy researcher and press aide to Mr Blair, has been given the limelight as the Russian billionaire’s minder in Britain. He also works along with a couple of chums who fled Number 10 with their old boss last year. David Bradshaw, who was a special adviser to the former Prime Minister for 10 years, is head writer. And Martin Sheehan, associate partner, worked for eight of the past 20 years in a range of communications roles for Mr Blair. He spent a brief spell as Gordon Brown’s head of strategic communications but went to Portland when he discovered there were none. Just to prove it’s a small world, Mr Blair’s old replacement for Alastair Campbell, David Hill, rejoined as a director of the Bell Pottinger Group last November. The firm founded by Lord (Tim) Bell – feted as Margaret Thatcher’s messenger to the masses – represents the interests of one Michael Cherney, Deripaska’s former partner who is suing him in the high court for £2 billion. What about Nat Rothschild, you ask. His interests are represented by another PR giant, Finsbury, which is headed by former journalist Roland Rudd who counts among his best friends… Peter Mandelson, whose interests are represented by his former spin-doctor Ben Wegg-Prosser, who also used to work for Tony Blair at Number 10 and is now an aide to another Russian tycoon, and whose Russian wife Yulia revealed details of Mandelson’s visit to an exclusive dacha outside Moscow before going into town for dinner with… Oleg Deripaska. Quite dizzying.
