A Labour donor was approved for a senior Treasury role without the civil service watchdog being informed of his donation history, it has emerged.
Ian Corfield has donated more than £20,000 to Labour politicians in the last 10 years, including £5,000 to the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, last summer, according to Electoral Commission data.
Corfield was appointed a director in the Treasury in July, a senior role that would ordinarily be reserved for career civil servants.
Before that he worked as a full-time senior business adviser to the Labour party for seven months, according to his LinkedIn profile, and previously held senior roles at financial services firms.
Politico, which first revealed his appointment, reported that the Civil Service Commission was not informed of his donation history before approving it.
The watchdog approved the appointment, which it said was for a fixed term, after the Treasury made a case for it. The government must meet strict rules when appointing senior civil servants including holding an open and fair recruitment process.
The watchdog considers appointments outside the usual process in the case of temporary hires, secondments or a candidate with specialist skills.
A spokesperson for the Civil Service Commission said: “This temporary appointment was approved by the commission, recognising the need for the civil service to quickly bring in relevant skills for a fixed term. All appointments by exception are reminded of their responsibilities under the civil service code to act with impartiality, objectivity, integrity and honesty.”
The commission’s interim chief executive, Kate Owen, wrote in a blog post on its website that it was the responsibility of government departments to vet candidates.
“The department – as the employer – is responsible for carrying out background checks on individuals who may be appointed by exception. The department is also responsible for addressing any potential propriety matters,” she wrote.
Senior figures in the Conservative party have attacked the appointment on the basis that it compromises civil service impartiality.
Jack Worlidge, a senior researcher at the Institute for Government thinktank, told Politico the case exposed clear gaps in the rules.
“The commission’s recruitment principles are silent on the use of the exceptions process to appoint politically aligned candidates, as well as on the involvement of ministers in exceptional appointments,” he said. “The commission also plays no role in considering the propriety of appointments.
“During the election campaign Labour repeatedly emphasised its credentials around propriety and ethics. It will be interesting to see if the new ethics and integrity commission closes some of these gaps.”
A Treasury spokesperson said: “We do not comment on individual staffing appointments. Any appointments are made in line with the civil service rules on recruitment.”
Making a political donation does not automatically preclude someone from a civil service role.
Labour has pledged to establish an ethics and integrity commission with an independent chair within its first 100 days in power to “ensure probity in government”.
A cross-party commission concluded earlier this year that ministers should have to swear an oath to uphold ethical standards in public life after years of scandals and declining trust in the government.
