GORDON Brown was criticised yesterday for hiring a “butler” to tend to himself and senior officials as the economic crisis deepens in the country.
The Tories claimed an advertisement for a £29,000-a-year front-of-house assistant required to tend to senior officials and VIPs amounted to “Brown’s Downing Street butler”.
They claimed the job was an example of the thousands of posts in the public sector created under Labour that would do little to improve public services.
The front-of-house position is featured in a Tory survey that includes posts for a £55,000 Whitehall chief psychologist, a £72,000 head of international relations for the pensions regulator and a £185,000 senior civil servant to support Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.
The job advertisement states: “The main duties of the post will require you to carry out personal attendance on senior officials whilst they are working or entertaining in the Office or at the House of Commons.
“This will involve duties at luncheons, dinners and reception including the preparation of refreshments. The welcoming and escorting of VIPs within the Office is also an essential part of the job.”
Shadow Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said: “A million people face losing their private sector jobs this year thanks to Gordon Brown’s recession, followed by rocketing taxes on families and pensioners to pay back Labour’s £1trillion of government debt.
“Yet Gordon Brown’s top priority seems to be hiring a new butler to tend on him and his flunkies at Downing Street luncheons, dinners and receptions.”
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “There is no question of the prime minister having a butler. Front-of-house assistants perform a function that civil servants have undertaken for decades.
“As part of their role they welcome and escort visitors from all walks of life to government buildings.
“They are called upon to make and serve light refreshments at important functions and meetings . . . as well as perform postal and administrative duties.”