NORTH-EAST MP Alan Milburn is to make a shock return to the political frontline, it has been reveled.

Former Cabinet minister Mr Milburn, MP for Darlington, will return in a key advisory role to Gordon Brown.

The Prime Minister has turned to the ex-Health Secretary to head a new commission on social mobility.

Mr Milburn will chair a panel of industry leaders charged with coming up with policies to promote the advancement of people from disadvantaged backgrounds in the professions.

Measures to promote social mobility are to be set out in a White Paper on Tuesday.

But ministers have identified limited access to the professions - such as law, medicine, the senior civil service, media, finance and the upper ranks of the Armed Forces - as a major obstacle.

Mr Milburn will chair a panel of representatives from the professions who will generate proposals for what they can do to widen access in their sphere.

It will also report recommendations to the Government when it produces a policy statement in June.

Issues to be considered include financial obstacles to access and progression, the role of work experience and internships, recruitment practices and what can be done to encourage new applicants for certain jobs.

In an article for The Sunday Times today, Mr Milburn said he would be trying to ensure that the best people, regardless of their backgrounds, have a fair crack of the whip.

"This is the right time for the Government to make its core purpose creating an upwardly mobile society again," he said.

"While Gordon Brown has rightly made the immediate priority getting the country through the global economic downturn, the Government needs to take action now to prepare Britain for the opportunities that will arise in the future."

Mr Milburn said Labour had made progress since 1997, but added: "While the glass ceiling in British society has been raised, it has not yet been broken. A renewed drive is needed."

He went on to say that the shifting world economy meant the professions needed to take advantage of all the talent on offer in the UK.

"With 90 per cent fewer unskilled jobs and 50 per cent more professional jobs expected in Britain by 2020, our future success depends on unlocking the talents of all our people," Mr Milburn said.

But shadow work and pensions secretary Chris Grayling said: "This is all about Gordon Brown fighting Laura Spence-style class wars and internal Labour political manoeuvring, and nothing to do with the real root cause of social immobility.

"The Government should be concentrating on tackling endemic worklessness, educational failure and family breakdown - not chasing political gimmicks."

Liberal Democrat work and pensions spokesman Steve Webb said: "The most effective action for the long-term unemployed would have been to save the money spent on a meaningless VAT giveaway, which everyone agrees is making no difference.

"That same money could have been used to help those looking for employment by being invested in new green jobs."

The new Panel on Access to the Professions will feature prominent names from the bar, civil service, media, finance, publishing and police, among others.

They include Michael Grade, executive chairman of ITV; Gail Rebuck, chairman and chief executive of publisher Random House; Azeem Ibrahim, founder of the European Commerce and Mercantile Bank; and Trevor Philips, head of the Commission for Equalities and Human Rights.