Tories question donor's appointment to Treasury

The prime minister’s ethics adviser is being urged to investigate the chancellor over the appointment of a party donor to a civil service job, as the cronyism row engulfing the Labour Party continues to escalate.

- MILLIE COOKE

Ian Corfield, who has donated £20,000 to Labour politicians over the last decade, was made a temporary director of investment at the Treasury last month after a stint as the party’s senior business adviser. Mr Corfield is reported to have resigned as an official to the chancellor, becoming an unpaid adviser instead.

In a letter to the prime minister’s independent ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus, shadow Treasury minister Laura Trott urged him to open an investigation into Rachel Reeves for a potential breach of the ministerial code.

She said: “I know you are committed to upholding the very highest standards in public life and will share my belief that the growing scandal of cronyism, linked to political donations, is injurious to those standards.”

The appointment of Mr Corfield, who donated £5,000 to Ms Reeves in 2023, was not subject to an open contest.

While most roles in the civil service are required to be filled through “fair and open competition”, departments are able to apply for an exemption if they secure approval from the Civil Service Commission (CSC).