Number 10 is set to appoint veteran backbencher Bernard Jenkin to head up the key Liaison Committee, City A.M. understands, in a controversial departure from parliamentary convention.

The Liaison Committee, the only committee with the power to call the Prime Minister to face questions, is made up of the chairs of parliament’s other select committees who in turn typically select a chair from within their number.

However as revealed by City A.M. last week, Downing Street is set to exploit a loophole which means they can bypass this process and insert their own favoured candidate into the role.

The chief whip informed the members of the Committee this afternoon that the decision on chair had been taken above their head.

Jenkin, a vocal supporter of Brexit, is no longer a chairman of a select committee, having quit as the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee chief to put himself forward for the same role at the helm of the Defence committee last month.

His appointment will further suspicions amongst Westminster insiders that the Prime Minister and his team are set on reducing traditional scrutiny, following rows with the media over access.

While MPs were not critical of Jenkin himself, with one describing him as “unimpeachable” there are significant concerns about what it means for scrutiny, saying the move towards a government-appointed role marked a return to “political patronage” in a key role.

Though the Liaison Committee’s website says it looks to call the Prime Minister “three times a year,” Johnson – who has been Prime Minister since July – is yet to appear. Chairs told City A.M. they wanted a “firm commitment” from Jenkin that he would apply pressure to force Johnson to appear.

The decision is in part to avoid the confrontational nature of previous Liaison Committees. The former chair of the committee, Sarah Wollaston, was a continual thorn in the side of former Prime Minister Theresa May on the government’s Brexit plans.

This is a developing story