Milburn returns to Government to head panel

Published on Saturday 10 January 2009 22:54

FORMER Cabinet minister Alan Milburn is to make an unexpected return to the political frontline as one of Gordon Brown's key advisers, it was revealed last night.

The Prime Minister has turned to the former health secretary, a leading Blairite who has repeatedly clashed with Brown, to head a new commission to advance people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the professions.

The appointment will lead to comparisons with the return of another arch-Blairite, Lord Mandelson, to the Government in Brown's October reshuffle.

Milburn, once tipped as a successor to Tony Blair, has a history of rivalry with Brown. He has also voiced concern about Labour's strategy since Brown took over.

Milburn has been put in charge of drawing up recommendations on one of the Prime Minister's biggest priorities: widening the scope for people to achieve their potential.

Measures to promote social mobility are to be set out in a white paper on Tuesday. But ministers have identified limited access to the professions – such as law, medicine, the senior civil service, media, finance and the upper ranks of the armed forces – as a major obstacle.

Milburn, MP for Darlington, will chair a panel of representatives from the professions who will generate proposals for what they can do to widen access in their sphere. It will also report recommendations to the Government when it produces a policy statement in June.

Issues to be considered include financial obstacles to access and progression, the role of work experience and internships, recruitment practices and what can be done to encourage new applicants for certain jobs. Milburn said he would be trying to ensure that "the best people, regardless of their backgrounds, have a fair crack of the whip".

The new Panel on Access to the Professions includes Michael Grade, executive chairman of ITV; Gail Rebuck, chair and chief executive of publisher Random House; Azeem Ibrahim, founder of the European Commerce and Mercantile Bank; and Trevor Philips, head of the Commission for Equalities and Human Rights.