Labour was tonight engulfed in a new cronyism row – after the major donor in charge of election fundraising was accused of making recommendations for senior public appointments.
Lord Alli, who has given more than £500,000 to party coffers – including paying for Sir Keir Starmer’s new wardrobe – is said to have drawn up a list of candidates for top posts that would become vacant over the next few years.
His advice went as far as discussing roles within the Cabinet, sources told the Bloomberg news website – in a project he dubbed Operation Integrity.
But his activities are said to have triggered concerns within the Labour Party earlier this year over potential conflicts of interest, as he was both soliciting donations ahead of the election and advising on potential appointments that could be made if Labour won.
It is the latest twist in the scandal dubbed ‘passes for glasses’ after it emerged last month that TV tycoon Lord Alli had been given an access-all-areas pass for Downing Street just months after he gave £16,200 to Sir Keir for ‘work clothing’, followed by £2,485 for ‘multiple pairs of glasses’.
Sir Keir has admitted that Lord Alli helped with post-election ‘transition work’, as well as attending a garden party for supporters, but has refused to say what exactly he was doing or who approved his pass, amid suspicion that the PM’s powerful chief of staff Sue Gray was involved.
A Downing Street spokesman insisted: ‘Public appointments are made by ministers and departments.’
But former No 10 adviser Henry Newman said: ‘We now know that Labour insiders were raising concerns about Lord Alli’s influence, but the Government is refusing to answer basic questions about this and the wider cronyism scandal.
‘Who authorised Lord Alli’s Downing Street pass? What was his exact role in the transition team?
‘And did all ministers declare their donations properly when they asked for people to be appointed to the Civil Service?’
One Labour donor has already been handed a senior role in Whitehall, but was forced to abandon it after an outcry.
Ian Corfield donated £20,000 to Labour MPs over the past decade, including £5,000 to Rachel Reeves last year.
The former banker was made director of investment in the Treasury shortly after Labour won the election.
It then emerged that the Civil Service Commission, which vets senior appointments, had not been made aware of his donation to the Chancellor.
Mr Corfield stepped down from his new role last month and instead has been given a temporary, unpaid role as international investment summit adviser.
Ms Reeves was grilled over the furore in the Commons this week.
Her predecessor in No 11, Jeremy Hunt, asked: ‘Why is cronyism wrong under the Conservatives but acceptable under Labour?’
She insisted: ‘All governments appoint people to the Civil Service.
‘The donation from Ian Corfield was declared over a year ago in the proper way.’
Former No 10 Chief of Staff and Tory MP Nick Timothy told Labour: ‘Publish everything. Stop hiding. Stop equivocating. Stop covering it up.’
And a Tory source told the Mail: ‘First Keir Starmer gave a top donor a Number 10 pass in exchange for choosing his outfits for him.
‘Now this same donor is choosing his public appointees for him. What is this Labour government not planning on outsourcing to their crony pals?’
Downing Street declined to comment, while Lord Alli has not commented on any of the claims about his influence.