Lord Andrew Adonis

It is not often that junior ministerial appointments create quite as much controversy as this one following the 2005 general election. It is rumoured that Tony Blair's original plan to give Lord Adonis the more senior role of Schools Minister was blocked by Ruth Kelly, who it seems feared that, as one of Blair's trusted allies, Adonis would be constantly breathing down her neck.

Adonis is a former Lib Dem councillor, Parliamentary Candidate and journalist, firstly with the Financial Times and then with the Observer. He joined the Labour Party in 1995 and the Downing Street policy unit as an education adviser in 1998, becoming its head in 2001. It is within these roles that he is believed to have caused friction with former Education Secretaries David Blunkett, Estelle Morris and Charles Clarke.

He was the architect of the controversial business-backed "City Academes" as well as a strong advocate of top-up fees, even to the point of openly encouraging vice-chancellors to lobby for them. Many think that he has long been very influential and has the Prime Minister's ear, much more than some ministers.

Lord Adonis's elevation to the peerage in 2005 in order to become a junior minister was controversial: he has no ministerial experience, has never been elected and is widely seen as one of "Tony's cronies".

Unlike some junior ministers, it seems unlikely that this figure will fade into the background.