Out of 173 candidates, the government selected a Bullingdon Club “chum” of Boris Johnson’s to act as sleaze watchdog, a minister has revealed.
Ewen Fergusson, a member of Oxford’s infamous dining club at the same time as the prime minister, was given the role last month.
In an answer to a written parliamentary question from Labour, Cabinet office minister Chloe Smith said that the government had received 173 applications for the two vacancies on the committee; the applications were “carefully considered” and ultimately Mr Fergusson was appointed.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner told The Independent: “Being Boris Johnson’s chum from the Bullingdon Club does not qualify you to sit on the watchdog that is supposed to crack down on sleaze and cronyism in our politics. In fact, it should disqualify you”.
She said that Mr Fergusson’s appointment was “an utter joke”.
She added: “Instead of the prime minister appointing his mates to committees we need a fully independent integrity and ethics commission to oversee and stamp out the rampant sleaze and cronyism coming from Downing Street that has polluted our democracy”.
