Not fair, not particularly open

In all the furore over the 'is he or isn't he?' Hague situation, one smaller but far more important issue has been missed by most of the media (although the Guardian today has now picked up on the story). That is why the Tories feel it acceptable to appoint members of their party to paid civil service roles (as opposed to posts as overly political Special Advisers)?

This is particularly important as civil servants are meant to be impartial (unlike Special Advisers) and they are meant to be appointed in a fair and open way. On top of all this, isn't there supposedly a recruitment freeze across Whitehall?

Looks like jobs for the boys (and girls).