Friday, January 19th
Liberal Democrat MP Mr Norman Baker receives a written Home Office answer, dated the previous day, on applications for British passports by Mr Srichand and Mr Gopichand Hinduja.
Immigration minister Ms Barbara Roche confirms Mr Mandelson "made inquiries about how an application might be viewed given the government's wider policy of encouraging citizenship from long-standing residents who fulfilled the criteria, but did not make representations that an application be granted". Mr Baker passes the answer to the Observer.
Saturday, January 20th
The Observer contacts Mr Mandelson, who plays down his role, saying: "To the limited extent that I was involved in this matter I was always very sensitive to the proprieties. The matter was dealt with by my private secretary. At no time did I support or endorse this application for citizenship."
Sunday, January 21st
The Observer publishes the story. The Northern Ireland Office says in a statement: "If you ignore the headline of this story and read the facts, Mr Mandelson did not assist in this passport application. He did not support or endorse any passport application, nor would he have considered doing so. The Hindujas' involvement in the Dome was not handled by Mr Mandelson but by NMEC (the New Millennium Experience Company)."
In Delhi, a spokesman for Mr Srichand Hinduja says: "In the summer of 1998 Mr Hinduja asked Mr Mandelson informally if an application by him to the Home Office for British nationality would be considered. Mr Mandelson kindly came back to Mr Hinduja and confirmed he was eligible to apply, and that a formal application would be considered by the Home Office in the normal manner. Mr Mandelson had absolutely no further involvement with the application."
Monday, January 22nd
The Prime Minister's official spokesman, Alastair Campbell, defends Mr Mandelson's conduct. He says: "This was an issue raised by the Hindujas and it was passed to the Home Office and when specifically they asked Peter to endorse or support any application he refused, perfectly properly and appropriately.
"He did exactly what any other minister would do, which is pass it to the relevant department, which is the Home Office."
Tuesday, January 23rd
At the morning lobby briefing, the official spokesman clarifies his response of the day before. "Yesterday I repeated a line from Sunday that Peter's sole involvement was a call from his private secretary to the Home Office, which was Peter's recollection.
"But yesterday . . . Peter's office was able to look at it in further detail and was able to recollect that he had a call with Home Office minister Mike O'Brien in June 1998 . . . Mike O'Brien has confirmed that Peter Mandelson did not make representations on behalf of the brothers or make representations on any potential application and did not support or endorse it."
In a series of television interviews, Mr Mandelson defends himself. "There was no passport application, no discussion between me and the Home Office of the merits of giving a passport, no support or endorsement by me of any future passport application," he says.
Later, Mr Mandelson says: "There is no question of my forgetting about anything. I was not asked until today." Asked why a Downing Street spokesman claimed he could not remember the call, Mr Mandelson said: "You will have to ask them that. Nobody asked me about a phone call on Saturday, Sunday or Monday."
Wednesday, January 24th
Mr Mandelson is ordered into No 10 by Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair to "establish the facts" of his involvement with the passport application.
Mr Blair's spokesman all but publicly accuses Mr Mandelson of misleading him, saying: "One of the problems there has been is actually establishing ourselves all the various aspects of this. The Prime Minister prepares very, very thoroughly for PMQs. Just as the Prime Minister prepares for PMQs, I prepare for these (daily) briefings so I had several conversations with all the people involved.
"I gave you the actual information as I had it. I had spoken to Peter over the weekend," he insists.
Later, Mr Mandelson emerges from No 10 Downing Street to announce his resignation. "I do not accept in any way that I have acted improperly in respect of any application for naturalisation as a British subject," he says.
But he adds: "I do accept, however, that when my office spoke to a Sunday newspaper at the weekend I should have been clear that it was me personally, not my official, who spoke to the Home Office minister."