Mandelson flies back to take over

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No one minister has officially been deputising for Gordon Brown over the weekend after Harriet Harman's foreign vacation overlapped with the Business Secretary's.

Downing Street was forced to issue a swift insistence that the PM remained "in charge" amid speculation the peer would be running the show via mobile phone from the Greek island.

But Lord Mandelson's spokesman insisted it had been pre-agreed that he would be stand-in from his return until August 16, when he is expected to hand over to Chancellor Alistair Darling.

The First Secretary of State, widely seen as Mr Brown's de-facto deputy, had told workers at a Vauxhall plant that he would stay in the UK until a deal was agreed on the future of the car firm.

He took a budget airline flight to the Greek sunshine however after it became clear it would be later this month before any breakthrough was likely.

He was pictured at the weekend enjoying the hospitality of Nathanial Rothschild, but appeared to have avoided the political furore sparked by his Corfu break last year.

In an interview published by The Guardian, Lord Mandelson described himself more of a "kindly pussycat" than a "big beast" of politics. "I don't really see myself as a big beast. More as a kindly pussycat. Yes, a kindly pussycat. I'm a kindly pussycat, with strong views about what we need to do," he said.

"I think 10 years ago, and also 15 years ago, I was a very hard-nosed, uncompromising figure who was manning the barricades of change in the Labour Party, and prepared to take down anything or anyone who stood in the way," he went on. "I don't feel in that mode now. And secondly, I've learned from experience that you can defeat people without killing them."

Mr Brown is expected to swap his constituency in Scotland for the Lake District this week as he opts for a so-called "staycation" - keeping up a record of always holidaying in the UK as PM.