Return of the Blairites Milburn set to make a comeback with NHS role

Wes Streeting is set to give Alan Milburn a major role in the running of the health ministry in a move that has reignited the row over Labour figures with private interests having access to government.

- Denis Campbell, Rowena Mason

The health secretary is preparing to appoint Milburn, who was a radical reformer of the NHS in his time in that post under Tony Blair, as the lead non-executive director of the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

That will give Milburn an official position after months in which he has caused disquiet at both the DHSC and NHS England by attending meetings of both organisations despite not having a formal role.

It will formalise the former health secretary's longstanding status as a key adviser to Streeting as he seeks to drive through his promised "three big shifts" in how the NHS operates. Milburn's strong belief in using private healthcare to tackle the NHS treatment backlog and the fact that he is a consultant to various companies is likely to spark claims that his role at the DHSC puts him at risk of being exposed to conflicts of interest between his public and private sector activities.

Streeting is expected to unveil Milburn shortly as one of three new non-executive directors joining his department's board, which "provides the collective strategic and operational leadership of DHSC".

Interviews for the roles - which involve two or three days' work a month and are paid £15,000 a yearare being held on Friday 25 October.