THE concentration of Old Etonians in David Cameron's inner circle has been branded "ridiculous" by a non-Old Etonian member of it, Michael Gove.
The Education Secretary, who was adopted by a Labour-supporting family in Aberdeen and educated at a state school before attending the independent Robert Gordon's College, pointed out how such a concentration of privilege did not exist in a similarly wealthy country.
Among members of the Prime Minister's top team are: fellow Old Etonians Oliver Letwin, the Minister for Government policy; Jo Johnson, head of his Policy Unit; Ed Llewellyn, his Chief of Staff, and Rupert Harrison, George Osborne's chief economic adviser. Mr Johnson's brother, Boris, the London Mayor, is another Old Etonian and close friend of Mr Cameron.
Mr Gove, who this month became the first Conservative Education Minister to send his child to a state secondary school, said: "It doesn't make me feel personally uncomfortable because I like each of the individuals concerned but it's ridiculous. I don't know where you can find some such similar situation in a developed economy."
Downing Street insists Mr Cameron gets advice from a wide range of people from different backgrounds.
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