A committee of MPs has unanimously refused to endorse the appointment of a former Tory minister as chair of the Charity Commission, with a stinging rebuke to the government for selecting her despite “a complete lack of experience”.



With the charitable sector reeling from the Oxfam crisis, the digital, culture, media and sport committee said it could not support the appointment of Lady Stowell because she lacked “any real insight, knowledge or vision” for the job. And in a letter to the culture secretary, Matt Hancock, the committee chair, Damian Collins, raised concerns over her independence and dismissed her claims to be “a veteran outsider”.

The rare unanimous cross-party decision followed a difficult hearing in which Stowell, a former Leader of the House of Lords and head of corporate affairs at the BBC, was described as “the insider’s insider” by the SNP MP Brendan O’Hara.

Stowell conceded she had “limited experience” of the voluntary sector in the pre-appointment hearing. Paul Farrelly, a Labour MP, asked her: “What were the skills, qualifications and experience that were considered by No 10 to such an extent that perceived political neutrality was not a core consideration?”

In reply, Stowell said she had “an experience of nine years at the BBC, dealing with an internal form of regulation” while her time leading the Lords required her to “manage very complex stakeholder relationships”.

Among other sceptical questions from MPs of all parties, Rebecca Pow, a Conservative MP, asked: “Do you not think a little more experience would be more helpful?”

Stowell also sought to address the Oxfam crisis, saying the Charity Commission had made mistakes initially. “My view as an observer is that it is disappointing that the Charity Commission was not more curious [in 2011] and did not push back at Oxfam to get more information from them,” Stowell said, although she added she thought the regulator had handled recent events better.

It is understood that Stowell has no intention of withdrawing her application, leaving a final decision for ministers at the DCMS.

Rejection by MPs does not amount to a veto on a governmental appointment, although it is seen as a serious criticism of the individual put forward. Since the system of pre-appointment was introduced there have been 96 such hearings, and only five individuals have been negatively assessed. The appointment went ahead in three of those cases.

During the hearing it also emerged that Stowell had been appointed to the board of Crimestoppers and an employment agency, Impellam, following the initial recommendation of the Tory donor Lord Ashcroft. But she said her status as a candidate “was not politically motivated” and she would resign both the party whip in the Lords and her party membership if she was confirmed in post.

She also initially said she had had no contact with Conservative politicians as the process unfolded, but later said she had called Karen Bradley, the then culture secretary, to find out why the appointment process had taken several weeks to conclude.