London - Britain's Trade and Industry Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, has emerged as the unlikely pin-up of Mensa. In a survey in the latest issue of Mensa Magazine, Mr Mandelson is hailed as the cleverest politician in the Cabinet. He narrowly beats the new Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Stephen Byers, to the title, with Ms Clare Short, Mr Chris Smith and Mr Nick Brown at the bottom of the list.
The survey assesses Cabinet members for political and intellectual ability. The scores are then combined to find their political quotient or "PQ". Mr Mandelson romps home with a PQ of 90 out of 100.