THE Labour government have handed a life peerage and the position of Advocate General for Scotland to a party dynast.
Catherine Smith KC, the daughter of former Labour leader John Smith and sister of BBC journalist Sarah Smith, will fill the role in Keir Starmer’s government.
Her mother Elizabeth, termed "Baroness Smith of Gilmorehill", already sits in the Lords.
The position will see Smith lead the UK Government’s Scottish legal team.
She said: "It is a great honour to be appointed the Advocate General for Scotland and join the team of UK Government law officers.
"I look forward to playing my part in protecting and promoting the rule of law and contributing to this government's commitment to public service."
Keith Stewart (below) had been the Advocate General for Scotland under the Tory government since 2020. He took up the role after Richard Keen resigned.
Keen stepped down telling then-prime minister Boris Johnson he had “found it increasingly difficult to reconcile what I consider to be my obligations as a law officer with your policy intentions”.
The news of Smith's appointment comes as Labour face allegations of “cronyism”.
Waheed Alli – a peer who has donated more than £500,000 to Labour over the past 20 years and provided clothing, “multiple pairs of glasses”, and accommodation for Starmer – was given a pass to Number 10, despite not having a formal job there.
Ian Corfield, who has donated £20,000 to the party over the past decade – including £5000 to Chancellor Rachel Reeves, also took a job in the Treasury as its investment director.
The Sunday Times then reported that Corfield had stepped down from his civil service role to become a temporary, unpaid adviser to the department instead.
Further appointments have seen people linked to the party or Labour-supporting think tanks given roles in the politically impartial Civil Service.
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