Mandelson’s urinary slip-up is daft, but it points to something more serious, writes Shelagh Fogarty

I'm not going to lie – I've had a bit of a laugh about it.

But scratch beneath the surface and this incident reveals something rather troubling about entitlement and declining standards in public life.

Mandelson has apologised profusely, blaming two Uber drivers who left him waiting for half an hour. "I was bursting," he said. "There is no disguising my embarrassment."

This wasn't just any garden wall though. It belonged to a £10 million property, and the person relieving himself wasn't just anyone – he's a Labour peer who, until recently, served as UK Ambassador to Washington.

The timing couldn't be worse. The incident coincided with the release of more emails revealing that Mandelson's connections to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein continued until 2016, eight years after Epstein pleaded guilty to child sex offences.

These emails show Mandelson describing Epstein in glowing, almost loving terms – calling him "best pal" in Epstein's 2003 birthday book. He lost his ambassadorship when these connections emerged, but he still sits in the House of Lords with the Labour whip. Serious questions remain about whether that's sufficient accountability.

There's also a gender dimension here that's impossible to ignore. A senior female politician caught urinating in the street would face far more than mild embarrassment. I suspect it would be regarded as far more problematic, more bizarre, potentially career-ending.

Beyond Mandelson himself, this speaks to something broader about the erosion of public behaviour standards. Nearby residents called his behaviour "revolting," noting they see similar conduct during Notting Hill Carnival. They found it outrageous that "the person responsible should be a peer of the realm."

They've got a point. I'm not being puritanical – he could have just knocked on the door and asked to use the loo. But there's real entitlement at work here.

Earlier this week, I watched a woman and her young daughter on the train passing a phone back and forth playing loud music, whilst simultaneously sharing a messy sandwich. That's a train, not a living room.

We're on a descent into something very unpleasant on our streets. If supposed grandees like Lord Mandelson can't find a better way to relieve themselves than against someone's garden wall, what hope is there for maintaining standards of public conduct anywhere else?

____________________

Listen to LBC's Shelagh Fogarty from 1-4pm Monday to Friday on the new LBC app.

LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.

To contact us email opinion@lbc.co.uk