Looking back to just over a fortnight ago when you resigned, are you still staggered by what happened on that day?

Of course, to an extent I am. These things just happen out of the blue in politics, politics is like that. Life goes on.

It's like suddenly finding yourself in a ghastly road accident in which your car is written off and you step from wreckage and continue your life.

You don't know how the accident happened.

Probably it was a combination of different factors and mistakes, including your own.

Did you regret anything you said afterwards?

I wouldn't say anything about my resignation and the circumstances surrounding it. That's going to keep for the inquiry.

I think my constituents will be content to wait for the out come of the inquiry.

I think the Hartlepool people are very canny, they're not easily swayed, they're not going to be told what to think by the media PR or anyone else.

They'll wait for an official inquiry and that's what I would hope they'll do.

A lot of calls to this programme have been anti-Peter Mandelson.

There will be people who are for me, people who know me, people who support me politically, people I've helped over the years and then there will be other people, Conservatives or other political opponents, or people who are less sympathetic to me who will take the opposite view.

All know is that if there are any of the people who have left flowers and cakes and cards who are listening to this interview this morning, I just want to thank them. I love the flowers, I'm enjoying the cakes. and the cards and letters are very reassuring for me.

They are very comforting for me at a time of distress for me, so I thank them if they are listening.

Hartlepool people are good people. They stand by others when they see that they are experiencing difficulty, and that's what I'm getting from my constituents.

First and foremost, Hartlepool elected me to be their Member of Parliament, not to be anything else, Northern Ireland Secretary, not to be Trade and Industry Secretary.

I think some of them were pleased that I got into those positions. They liked the fact that I was there.

Others equally would say that you were elected first and foremost to help us and represent us in Parliament.

Bearing in mind we did have a big story here which was known to be emerging about the loss of steel jobs, why was it when other MPs were able to talk on behalf of their constituents, you were on holiday in the United States?

I wasn't on holiday. I was removing myself from a media mania and feeding frenzy when I thought it would be no help to my party and no help to my constituents if I remained in the middle of feeding what was a gigantic appetite for a news and stories and speculation.

What I did after I resigned was come straight back to Hartlepool to meet people and to meet my constituency party and to announce that I intended to carry on as the Member of Parliament. And I did make a statement about the steel changes and loss of jobs