Conservatives accused of trying to push Tory sympathisers for impartial public appointments

Ministers have increasingly begun to push for Conservative sympathisers to be appointed to public bodies since the general election, the outgoing commissioner for public accountments has warned.

Sir David Normington, who oversees appointments and makes sure they are made on merit, told the Financial Times newspaper that David Cameron or other ministers intervened about once a month to ask why party donors, ex-MPs and others had not been shortlisted for key posts.

The commissioner, who has completed his term of office, said further Government plans to change the way appointments are made would also see “a return to the days of political and personal patronage”.

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The Government wants to implement the recommendations of a review into public appointments by Sir Gerry Grimstone, which critics fear would give ministers more control over who ultimately takes up posts.

The Government has previously been criticised for allegedly trying to politicise some public posts.

Under the Coalition government Cabinet Office minister Frances Maude championed plans for larger “extended ministerial offices” and for departmental permanent secretaries to be chosen by ministers from a shortlist.

Lord Hennessy, the eminent political scientist and crossbench peer, said in 2014 that those moves appeared to amount to “creeping politicisation that dare not speak its name”.

Additionally, after the Scottish independence referendum campaign, MPs on the cross-party Public Administration Select Committee warned that the publication of Treasury advice had “compromised the perceived impartiality of one of the UK's most senior civil servants”.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had accused the Treasury of being “partisan” during the campaign.

The latest accusation by Sir David comes amid consternation from Eurosceptics that the Government spend £10m of public money on leaflets supporting membership of the European Union.