Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg stepped in to calm a “hypocrisy” row today after it overshadowed his new youth jobs campaign.
Mr Clegg intervened after social mobility czar James Caan criticised parents who secured their children jobs, despite helping his daughters get positions at firms he is connected with.
Mr Clegg, whose father once set up an internship for him at a Finnish bank, said: “I am a parent, I want to do the best for my child, every parent does. I don’t think it’s actually for politicians to tell parents what to do in helping their own children. This [campaign] is about giving people who perhaps don’t have the contacts, don’t have the support, opportunity to find places where they can work.”
Mr Caan kicked off the “Opening Doors” campaign today with Mr Clegg by touring London firms with young people on a double-decker bus.
Earlier this week, Mr Caan suggested parents who gave children a hand with their careers helped create a society where “people get jobs based on who you know”.
But this morning he told BBC radio: “You should not discriminate against family or friends just because they’re family or friends, it doesn’t mean they are not qualified to do the job.”
Labour MP Chris Williamson, who sits on the parliamentary group for skills and employment, said: “There’s a whiff of hypocrisy here.”
