Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, was embroiled in a new cronyism row yesterday after it emerged that the commission which she appointed to distribute £2.3 billion of lottery money had been packed with Labour supporters.

Five of the 12 members of the Big Lottery Fund board are members of the Labour Party, including Sir Clive Booth, the chairman, who has campaigned on behalf of Labour at the last three general elections. There are no members of any other political party on the board, which starts work this month.

The move will intensify the row over the use of National Lottery money to support Labour projects. The Conservatives say £3.2 billion has been spent since 1998 on schools, hospitals and other essential services that should have been funded by the taxpayer.

The four other Labour board members are Sanjay Dighe, a former deputy leader of Harrow Council, Roland Doven, who worked with the Labour MP Keith Hill, John Gartside, former leader of Warrington Council, and Albert Tucker, the managing director of a Fairtrade company. Sir Clive gets £36,000 and Mr Dighe £24,000 a year for working for the lottery board eight days a month. The other Labour members are paid £208 a day, working two or three days a month. They have been appointed until 2009, distributing about £630 million a year.

Ed Vaizey, the shadow Arts Minister, said that Ms Jowell had behaved shamelessly. “It seems that, to secure any job on any government-sponsored quango, the only necessary qualification is a relationship with the Labour Party.”

Big Lottery Fund board members have previously failed to disclose their political affiliations. When the names of the interim board were released in 2004, neither Sir Clive nor Mr Gartside’s membership was mentioned. It was also not on the Board Members’ declaration of interests.

This is the latest in a series of Labour cronyism rows. In October the former No 10 adviser Ed Richards was made chief executive at the communications regulator Ofcom, with a salary of £440,000 a year. The same month Derek Mapp, a Labour donor, was made chairman of Sport England, a part-time post worth £32,000 a year.

Since June 2004 an interim Big Lottery Fund board has been in place, awaiting the Lottery Act in 2005 to give it statutory footing. Ms Jowell’s announcement this week shrinks the board from 17 people to 12, proportionately strengthening the Labour representation with two of the four new appointments belonging to the party. This comes months after the Government failed in attempts to gain even greater control of the Lottery. In May, ministers backed down from plans giving them power to spend lottery cash on public services rather than good causes.

The Culture Department wanted the Big Lottery Fund to “comply” with directions from Ms Jowell. It was agreed it would only have to “take account of” her views.

The Tories have cited as recent examples of “political” donations £238 million spent on IT training for teachers, and £42 million on a pilot scheme to distribute free fruit to schoolchildren. In 1997, Mr Blair said: “We don’t believe it would be right to use lottery money to pay for things which are the Government’s responsibilities.”

The Big Lottery Fund was created after its predecessor, the Community Fund, gave £491,188 to the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns, which helped two Palestinian bombers, and £225,903 to the Scottish Prostitutes Education Project, which provided aromatherapy massages to sex workers.

A spokesman for the DCMS said: “The Appointments process is carried out in accordance with the code of practice of the commissioner for public appointments. Appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.”

Times Recommends

• Donor organ allowed child’s own heart to heal
• Michael Jackson: Not the final chapter
• Brüno toned down for 15 rating