Peter Mandelson has pledged to be a "dedicated team player" as he bids to become Britain's EU commissioner.

The former Cabinet minister was subjected to a three-hour grilling from MEPs in the European parliament on Monday which he had to pass before taking up the coveted trade portfolio.

Mandelson was expected to get one of the toughest cross-examinations among Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso's new team, but the parliament can only vote to reject the entire group rather than one individual.

Questions were raised over his role in British politics and close links to Number 10 after some British MEPs had questioned the ex-Labour Party spin doctor's suitability for the role on the grounds of written evidence he has submitted ahead of the hearings.

But Mandelson said while he remained personally close to the prime minister, their political relationship had changed.

"I have moved on from being a British parliamentarian, I have moved on from being a New Labour politician, I have moved on from being the supporter in the active day-to-day sense of Tony Blair," he said.

The man who has made many enemies within British politics also promised to be a "good listener" in Brussels.

"If I am confirmed by you, I will work in the Barroso Commission as a dedicated team player," he told MEPs on the trade committee.

'Force for good'

The new Commission is due to take up post in November with Mandelson having to master the tricky trade brief, which involves negotiating on behalf of the entire EU.

As well as reviving the continent's economic performance, Mandelson added that he wants Europe to be a "force for good" in the world under his trade regime.

"Where people are given hope, they will be less willing to take up the weapons of hopelessness," he said.

He added that he would work to reverse "gross inequalities and desperate poverty" in developing countries.

"I certainly believe that we gain through open trade and liberalisation. But for me liberalisation is not an end in itself. It is a means for creating a better and more just society and improving people's lives," he said.

And paying tribute to his former parliamentary constituency of Hartlepool the former MP said: "When people praise the virtues of a dynamic economy, I will always remember they're talking about people, not statistics."