The business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, has appointed an equalities commissioner who had previously donated to her leadership campaign, the Guardian can reveal. Joanne Cash, a former Tory candidate, was made a commissioner to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) board in January. Badenoch announced the appointment, in her capacity as equalities minister, saying Cash had “a track record of promoting women’s rights and freedom of expression”. Labour said Badenoch should “come clean on why she didn’t declare a political interest in this appointment”.
Badenoch has not broken any rules by making the appointment. Cash, who stood unsuccessfully in the 2010 general election, was not required to declare political interest, and had been approved for appointment prior to any donation to Badenoch’s leadership campaign. She will serve as a commissioner for a four-year term. A spokesperson for the EHRC said: “We have robust procedures in place to manage conflicts of interest or perceived conflicts of interest, including requiring any board members to recuse themselves from discussion where there may be conflicts. These procedures will be applied in this case too.” According to Electoral Commission records, Cash made a £2,500 donation to Badenoch’s leadership campaign last summer. The campaign attracted significant party support and backing from high-profile MPs including Michael Gove, although she came fifth in the race to succeed Boris Johnson. Badenoch became trade secretary under Liz Truss and has retained the role under Rishi Sunak, who has now merged her duties with those of the business department. She is regularly tipped as a future Conservative leader. Anneliese Dodds, the shadow secretary for women and equalities, said: “Rishi Sunak’s promise of professionalism, integrity and accountability at all levels has been reduced to a grim punchline. Cabinet ministers appointing donors to important bodies only confirms this. “Kemi Badenoch should come clean on why she didn’t declare a political interest in this appointment. And Rishi Sunak should say how he is planning to deal with the sleaze and cronyism engulfing his government.” A spokesperson for the government’s Equality Hub said: “Joanne Cash’s extensive range of experience as a human rights barrister, policy adviser and businesswoman are a great asset to the EHRC and their vital work to advance equality in this country. “Her appointment was made following a full and open competition, which involved a public application process and interviews with an expert panel.” Cash is a former barrister and was board chair at MindGym, a behaviour science firm. She also co-founded the social mobility programme Parent Gym, which she still chairs. She is married to MindGym co-founder, Octavius Black, a former school friend of David Cameron who was made a CBE in the new year honours. Cash was seen as a rising Tory star candidate in 2010 and was named a “freedom fighter” in an article by the Observer, where she said she was motivated to fight the Westminster seat to protect freedom of expression. She lost to Labour’s Karen Buck, and made a viral concession speech in which Cash was deeply critical of the media coverage of her campaign. After her election loss, she then advised Cameron’s No 10 on the Leveson inquiry as well as libel and privacy changes. She was also a member of the advisory board of Women2Win, a campaign to seek out more female Tory candidates. • This article was amended on 9 February 2023 to make clear that Cash was approved for appointment prior to making any donation to Badenoch’s leadership campaign, and to amend some personal details.