From the Guardian ::

Gordon Brown defends decision to bring Peter Mandelson back into government

Gordon Brown today explained his astonishing decision to bring his bitter rival Peter Mandelson back into the cabinet as business secretary, saying: “Serious people are needed for serious times.”

At a press conference in Downing Street, the prime minister said he was appointing Mandelson, who in the past has twice resigned from cabinet posts in controversial circumstances, because he needed “the best team” to help Britain through the global economic crisis.