Minister defies MPs to pick Tory peer as charities chief

Culture Secretary Matt Hancock today pressed ahead with appointing a Tory peer as the Charity Commission’s boss despite a Commons committee opposing the move.

He gave Baroness Stowell, former Leader of the Lords, his “full backing” and insisted she had been picked after a “fair, open and transparent competition”. She was seen as “clearly the best candidate for the job”, according to a Whitehall source.

MPs on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee unanimously refused to sign-off the appointment, claiming she did not have the necessary experience and insight about the scandal-hit charity sector. It also raised concerns over her perceived neutrality. However Mr Hancock rejected the committee’s conclusions.

He said: “I’m sure Tina Stowell will be a brilliant chairman of the Charity Commission. This is a crucial time for the commission and the sector. She was appointed after a fair, open and transparent competition. She was not only the best candidate for the job, but is the right candidate and has my full backing.”

The peer, a former BBC head of corporate affairs, has made clear she will give up the Conservative whip.

She is due to take over from Charity Commission chairman William Shawcross next week. The commission has come under intense scrutiny over its regulation of the sector following criticism over fundraising tactics used by some organisations, as well as the Oxfam sex scandal.

The MPs’ committee said the appointment process “lacked transparency” and urged names of other candidates to be released.