The Government is facing a fresh cronyism row after a former Tory party candidate and councillor was handed a key role with Parliament's "revolving door" watchdog.
Andrew Cumpsty, former leader of the Conservative Group on Reading Borough Council and an ex-Tory parliamentary candidate in Copeland, was among several members to join the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) earlier this month.
Ex-ministers and senior civil servants must get permission from the watchdog if they want to take on paid work in the two years after leaving office.
Mr Cumpsty is also chairman and founder of the Enterprise Forum, which acts as a link between the business leaders and the Conservative Party.
ACOBA boss Sir Eric Pickles, a former Tory cabinet minister, is also listed as president of the forum.
Labour raised questions on the appointment and accused the Government of presiding over a “chumocracy”.
Rachel Reeves, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “How can people have any confidence that conflicts of interest will be avoided in public office if top jobs at the body that oversees them are handed out quietly to friends?
“We have already seen over a billion pounds worth of Covid contracts awarded to friends and donors of the Conservative Party and an attitude of the best friend for the job, not the best person for the job.
“This government is increasingly defined by its incompetence, cronyism, and chumocracy. The British people deserve better.”
However a Cabinet Office spokesperson rejected the criticism, saying all applications were considered on merit and in compliance with the rules.
The spokesperson said: “The appointments process was run in compliance with the Governance Code for Public Appointments.
“This was a fair and open competitive process, potential conflicts were considered and declared.”
The watchdog was set up under Harold Wilson in 1975 to scrutinise appointments of former Government officials before widening its remit to cover ministers in the 1990s.
It admonished Boris Johnson in 2018 for failing to seek permission when he signed up to write a lucrative Daily Telegraph column days after resigning as Foreign Secretary.
