She spoke out after her Committee approved the Transport Secretary’s appointment of Declan Collier (pictured) as the new chair of independent regulator the Office of Rail & Road.

“We are struck by the fact that the chair of the ORR is the only post subject to a pre-appointment hearing by the Committee, while top posts at other similar regulatory and delivery bodies in the transport sector are not,” Lilian said. “There is no rationale for this.”

She added that the Department for Transport must either accept that pre-appointment hearings should take place for a wider range of roles, or clearly explain why they are excluding important public appointments from Parliamentary scrutiny.

The Committee is calling for a wider range of posts – such as the chairs of the Civil Aviation Authority, Network Rail and High Speed 2 – to be subject to such hearings.

In endorsing Declan Collier’s appointment, the Transport Select Committee concluded that he has extensive experience in the private sector, having worked at a senior level in energy and transport. It was also said that he has the professional competence and personal independence required for the role.

In evidence presented to the committee, Declan Collier – a former chief executive of London City Airport – acknowledged that the rail and road sectors and performing a regulatory function will be new to him. The committee says that he faces a sharp learning curve but this should not prevent his appointment.

But given the challenges facing the road and rail sectors and his lack of experience in these sectors, MPs on the Committee felt he should commit to spending more than two days a week in the role, if required.

Declan Collier succeeds the ORR’s current chair Professor Stephen Glaister, who will step down at the end of 2018 after three years in post.