Mandelson discovers a Gold-mine to clear his nameLawyers were at the heart of the political headlines this week, playing a pivotal role in the machiavellian murmurings surrounding Whitehall.

The Times (1 February) reported how Peter Mandelson has enlisted the services of London firm Goldsmiths to help him clear his name in the fall-out from the Hinduja passport affair that cost him his cabinet post last month.

The 'smart' and 'savvy' Lee Goldsmith - who has handled high-profile cases for the novelist Anna Pasternak and James Palumbo, owner of the Ministry of Sound nightclub - is in charge of the case, and was described as 'tough, well-organised and very hard working'.

Keith Vaz, the embattled minister for Europe and a former solicitor, also dominated the headlines.

As the week dragged on, more reports of his involvement with the Hinduja brothers appeared, and almost all the papers were playing a will-he-go, will-he-stay?' game.

The fightback began on Monday, with The Mirror's front page (5 February) dedicated to Mr Vaz's claims that the allegations against him were part of a 'racist plot' by his Parliamentary enemies.

The other big story this week was the storage of children's organs at Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool, and here too the legal profession played a part.

The Times (1 February) reported how two Liverpool solicitors were 'locked in a battle' to lead the parents' fight for compensation against the NHS.

Makin & Co, which represents 175 parents of the children, is competing with Ian Cohen of Goodmans, who says he represents 370 families, and a court will shortly decide which firm is to take a lead in the action.

Back to the old favourites, and the Human Rights Act was called into action to halt a trial for a jail riot.

Seven men accused of 'violent disorder in a prison riot' (The Times, 1 February) escaped prosecution this week after a judge ruled that the delay in bringing them to trial - the alleged offence happened in 1998 - meant that their right to a fair hearing had been breached.

The penal system was the focus of many papers this week, owing to the Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf's attack on the 'Aids virus' that is prison overcrowding.In a speech to the Prison Reform Trust, he said a custodial sentence 'will do nothing to tackle the offender's problems' (Guardian, 1 February), and called on judges to pass 'the shortest sentence possible' for offenders, but this only where 'a sentence is strictly necessary'.

However, his comments appeared to be in contrast to Jack Straw's harder line on crime - Mr Straw recently stated that 'if we are to get on top of this problem of persistent criminality, then prison numbers may well have to rise', and said that the idea of fewer numbers in jails is 'still a long way off' (Guardian, 1 February).

Lord Woolf had a busy week, as he waded into another high-profile debate - this time on the right to a jury trial, a right that he said was 'not sacrosanct' (The Times, 30 January).

Although he claimed to be a 'strong supporter' of the jury system, he pointed out that 'there are systems which work very well in other jurisdictions which do not involve a jury', and he attacked specifically the large number of defendants who opt for trial by jury in order to delay pleading guilty.

Finally, returning to the Mandelson affair, and The Times (30 January) reports on the famous recent words of Sir Anthony Hammond QC, the man responsible for the onerous task of heading up the government's inquiry into the Hinduja passport affair, and doubtless entering sinto battle with Lee Goldsmith.Sir Anthony's mistake was to say, in an interview last November, that he 'was looking for a new challenge' in his professional life - as the saying goes, when the gods want to punish you, they grant your wishes.Victoria MacCallum