Labour faces another ‘cash for jobs’ row as it has emerged that a businesswoman was handed a top civil service job after her firm donated £67,000 to the party.
Emily Middleton was made a director general in the Department for Science and Technology just weeks after the money was declared.
It comes after Ian Corfield, a former banker who donated more than £20,000 to Labour – including a £5,000 payment to Chancellor Rachel Reeves – was given a top job in the Treasury.
Last night it also emerged that Haydon Etherington, a former policy advisor to Angela Rayner, is now a civil servant at the housing department.
This has sparked fresh criticism from the Tories and raised questions about whether Sue Gray, Sir Keir Starmer‘s chief of staff and a former top mandarin, was behind the appointments.
Emily Middleton was made a director general in the Department for Science and Technology just weeks after the money was declared
It comes after Ian Corfield (pictured), a former banker who donated more than £20,000 to Labour – including a £5,000 payment to Chancellor Rachel Reeves – was given a top job in the Treasury
This has sparked fresh criticism from the Tories and raised questions about whether Sue Gray (pictured), Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff and a former top mandarin, was behind the appointments
Ms Middleton was a partner at consultancy Public Digital, which made two separate donations to Labour frontbencher Peter Kyle, The Telegraph reported.
She was ‘on secondment to the Labour Party advising on digital public services reform’ from January to July this year, according to her LinkedIn profile. Mr Kyle was the party’s science spokesman at the time, and he became Science Secretary last month after Labour won the election.
His register of interests shows he received two donations from Public Digital of £33,280 each.
Former home secretary and Tory leadership contender James Cleverly said the appointment raised concerns about ‘Labour’s very questionable civil service recruitment practices’.
He added: ‘Funny how a senior civil servant joins Labour, then a load of Labour people get civil service appointments.’ Last month it emerged Ms Middleton had been appointed director general of Digital Centre Design at Mr Kyle’s department.
The role is one of the most senior in the civil service and typically attracts a salary of between £125,000 and £208,100.
Last night it also emerged that Haydon Etherington, a former policy advisor to Angela Rayner (pictured), is now a civil servant at the housing department
Former home secretary and Tory leadership contender James Cleverly said the appointment raised concerns about ‘Labour’s very questionable civil service recruitment practices’
She was also a policy fellow at Labour Together, a think-tank with close ties to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, while working for Public Digital.
This week it was revealed that Ms Reeves’s department failed to tell the civil service watchdog that Mr Corfield had donated thousands of pounds to Labour before giving him a top job.
Most civil service roles must be filled through ‘fair and open competition’. This includes advertising them, which did not happen in the case of Mr Corfield’s job. If a department wants to break this legal requirement, it must get approval from the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
It is understood that, while there was no requirement for the Treasury to do so, it did not inform the CSC about Mr Corfield’s past donations to Labour.
The CSC later approved the appointment, but critics say the watchdog may have blocked this were it aware of the donations.
Previously, Mr Corfield held senior roles in the private sector, including at UK credit card issuer NewDay and Australian banks Aussie and Bankwest.
A Government spokesman said of Ms Middleton’s recruitment: ‘This role was appointed in line with the civil service rules.’
Government sources said the donation was not personally from Ms Middleton and her application was based on qualifications.
A Public Digital spokesman said: ‘We wish Emily the best in her new role.’
