Andy Kerr: "Open competition"

The executive said the new assessors - who will be paid - had been picked by an independent selection panel after an open competition.

Mr Kerr announced that the assessors would in future be paid fees of between �150 and �250 per day, a move likely to cost around �13,000 a year.

He said: "I am pleased to be able to announce the appointment of 12 new assessors following an open competition at the end of last year.

"I am particularly pleased that the new complement of assessors better reflects our diverse Scottish society - they now comprise 10 men, 16 women, three people from an ethnic minority background and one disabled person."

Mr Kerr said the decision to pay assessors was about bringing the executive in line with the majority of Whitehall departments.

He said it would "ensure that the widest range of people are able to put themselves forward for consideration for appointment".

Labour Party activist

SNP MSP Alex Neil, who has launched his own parliamentary Bill to give MSPs a scrutineers role for quango appointments, attacked the announcement as "disgraceful."

"These appointments show we are still living in a Labour Mafia-ridden society," said Mr Neil, MSP for the Central Scotland region.

"What makes this even more disgraceful than the usual partisan appointments we have grown accustomed to under New Labour is that the purpose of this team is to scrutinise those very appointments - cronies to preside over cronyism."

Seven of the new appointments said they had been politically active during the past five years, six in the Labour Party and one in the SNP.

The Labour Party activists included Anja Ansel, a retired former director of the Scottish YMCA Housing Association.

Ijaz Ashraf, the chair of Central Scotland Racial Equality Council, also declared a Labour link as did Daniel Tierney, a lecturer at Jordanhill College in Edinburgh.

Freelance writer Kathleen Davies was also politically active for Labour as was Paul Matheson, a senior training officer at Strathclyde Police.

The sixth Labour Party activist was Dr Dorothy Bell, a consultant clinical psychologist and head of clinical psychology for adults with learning disabilities at Forth Valley Primary Care NHS Trust.

The sole self-declared SNP activist appointed was Dr Alex Wright, a lecturer in the department of politics at Dundee University.

Alex Neil: "Cronyism"

The five remaining appointments expressed no political affiliation during the past five years.

The assessors were appointed to act as "guardians" of the seven principles set out by the commissioner for public appointments in her code of practice.

They have to satisfy themselves that the code has been followed in every round of appointments.

Independent assessors

Ministers plan to appoint a Scottish commissioner for public appointments who would take over responsibility for appointing the assessors.

Legislation is required to create the new office and the transfer of powers was not expected to take place until the middle of 2003.

The appointments increased the total number of assessors to 26, one more than in June 2001.

They have been appointed for three years, starting on January 1 2002.

Half of the 14 independent assessors in place before Tuesday's announcement had political affiliations within five years prior to their appointment, according to the executive.

Five had Labour affiliations and two were linked to the SNP.