There is still a widely-held belief that "cronyism" exists in public life, according to the commissioner for public appointments in England and Wales.

And Janet Gaymer said recruiters could help eradicate this belief by pointing out that "it didn't exist".

"When you ask somebody to define cronyism, we tell them that we prevent that by doing x, y and z," said Gaymer, who was speaking at a meeting of the Recruitment Society.

Gaymer is responsible for overseeing more than 10,000 public appointments, although the final decision rests with the relevant government minister.

These appointments can include chairs of public corporations, such as the Civil Aviation Authority, utility regulators and members of NHS bodies.

As most of these positions are part-time and unpaid, any recruitment firm used in the appointment process is paid according to a pre-defined set of terms and conditions.

Gaymer told society members that her biggest challenge since her appointment in January 2006 was reconciling merit with diversity.

"We still find that most appointees are in the 'male, pale and stale' category and come from the 45 to 65 age group," said Gaymer.