I have to say that I'm not really that impressed with the Prime Minister's list of outside appointments, as listed here.
Sir Alan West, ex-admiral and chief of defence intelligence, becomes security minister at the Home Office. I suppose that Defence Intelligence did such a good job in Iraq that he can easily turn his hand to dealing with the problems of disaffected young Muslims in Birmingham and Bradford. Meanwhile, the ex-police commissioner, Lord Stevens - who might be expected to know something about domestic terrorism - becomes the PM's adviser on international security issues. Perhaps his somewhat unsuccessful investigation of football bungs has given him a depth of knowledge of international security issues of which I am unaware.
Then Professor Sir Ara Darzi KBE, a distinguished surgeon, becomes a parly charlie at the Department of Health. Junior health ministers are not required to have brains or medical abilities - they are there to do what they are told and take the parliamentary flak. Sir Ara would be more likely to serve the public good by continuing to do what he is obviously extremely well qualified to do, rather than being the Department of Health's dogsbody in the Lords.
And I know that Ms Shriti Vadera is one of Mr Brown's favourites and that she distinguished herself in the battles over the privatisation of the London Underground, but is a sophisticated investment banker the kind of person you want to be junior minister to wee Duggie at International Development, again landed with the departmental dogsbody work in the Lords?
I have no objections in principle to employing outsiders in government but you have to make sure that their expertise is going to be used properly.
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