Skills review author Lord Leitch accused of cronyism for contributing £5,000 to chancellor Gordon Brown’s campaign fund

The founder of the ‘skills pledge’ Lord Sandy Leitch has been implicated in the Gordon Brown cronyism affair.

The Electoral Commission revealed that Leitch, employed by the Treasury for two years to carry out the skills review, donated £5,000 to the incoming prime minister’s campaign fund.

Leitch reported back to the Treasury in December 2006 on the need for higher skills – recommending that all employers sign a pledge by 2010 to train their staff to Level 2 – the equivalent of five GCSEs at grades A-C. After much-criticised delays, this pledge will be formally launched next month.

Shadow cabinet member Chris Grayling suggested Leitch was one of many donators paying Brown back for previous work.

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“The reality is that many of these donors have been appointed to government posts by Gordon Brown and are now paying the chancellor back,” he said.

“It is quite clear that Brown intends to carry on leading a ‘You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’ government.”