Category Archives: Civil service

Boris Johnson confirms plans for ‘government hub’ in York

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PM says city should be in frame if Commons or Lords have to move during restoration work

Boris Johnson has confirmed that Downing Street is thinking of setting up a “government hub” in York, telling officials drawing up restoration plans for the Palace of Westminster that they should consider the city if the Commons or Lords have to be moved.

Restoration of the parliamentary estate, which is crumbling in many places and viewed as a significant fire risk, could cost an estimated £6bn, and the plans are still being debated.

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Who might the government seek to blame for the UK’s Covid-19 failings?

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Ministers have been accused of trying to shift the narrative over response to pandemic

While ministers insist that it is too early to fully consider what lessons might be learned from the coronavirus outbreak, the UK’s death toll – the highest in Europe – is expected to prompt an inquiry into the handling of the pandemic.

In recent weeks, the government has been accused of seeking to pre-emptively shift the narrative on responsibility for the country’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak and blame others for what went wrong.

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May and Johnson hung civil servants out to dry, report finds

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Inquiry into Whitehall’s Brexit role says prime ministers failed to protect officials

Theresa May and Boris Johnson let the former chief Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins and other civil servants hang out to dry after they became “targets for political attacks”, an investigation into Whitehall’s role in the Brexit drama of the past four years has found.

The independent thinktank the Institute for Government (IfG) spent months talking in confidence to Whitehall sources including officials, ministers and special advisers, to shine a light on the behind-the-scenes experience of some of those involved in one of the most controversial chapters in British political history.

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Failure to protect: who is to blame for Britain’s coronavirus crisis?

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A number of prominent people are being criticised for their shortcomings over Covid-19

The UK’s Covid-19 crisis has reached the blame phase, with Boris Johnson, ministers, civil servants and scientists coming under criticism that they underestimated the threat, were slow to act and are bungling the country’s response amid a wave of deaths.

So who is in the line of fire – and why?

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Priti Patel bullying row: ex-Home Office chief launches tribunal claim

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Sir Philip Rutnam takes action under whistleblowing laws, claiming constructive dismissal

Priti Patel is facing legal action under whistleblowing laws after her former permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam lodged an employment tribunal claim on Monday saying he was forced from his job for exposing her bullying behaviour.

Rutnam claims he was constructively dismissed from his role as Home Office permanent secretary after informing the Cabinet Office that Patel had belittled officials in meetings and made unreasonable demands on staff.

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Survey of thousands of Home Office staff revives bullying row

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Poll highlights issues such as excessive control shortly after furore surrounding Priti Patel

Thousands of Home Office employees claim they have been discriminated against, bullied or harassed at work, according to the results of a staff survey.

The Home Office people survey, which was conducted in autumn 2019 and was completed by 21,095 employees, is part of a civil service-wide assessment.

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Boris Johnson says he will ‘stick by’ Priti Patel under fire from Labour

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PM backs home secretary amid bullying claims, saying she is doing an ‘outstanding job’

Boris Johnson has given the government’s strongest backing yet for Priti Patel in the wake of fresh bullying allegations, insisting the home secretary was doing an “outstanding job”, as Jeremy Corbyn demanded an independent inquiry into whether she had broken the ministerial code.

Patel was alongside Johnson on the frontbench during prime minister’s questions as he told the Commons she was keeping the country safe by increasing the number of police officers on the streets and bringing in a system to “tackle our migration crisis”.

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Top civil servant begins legal case against Priti Patel and Home Office

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Home secretary may have to give evidence under oath if case comes to tribunal

Sir Philip Rutnam, the senior civil servant who resigned on Saturday claiming he was bullied and forced from office, has begun legal action against the government over his treatment by Priti Patel, his union has told the Guardian.

Legal documents name the home secretary, the Home Office and the Cabinet Office as respondents, the FDA said. It would mean that Patel will be expected to give evidence under oath if the case comes to tribunal.

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Cabinet Office to investigate Priti Patel bullying claims

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Gove tells MPs government will not set up fully independent inquiry into allegations Patel breached ministerial code

The Cabinet Office is to launch an inquiry into explosive claims that Priti Patel lied and bullied officials in several government departments, Michael Gove has told MPs.

The de facto deputy prime minister said the government would not set up a fully independent inquiry after Sir Philip Rutnam quit as permanent secretary of the Home Office.

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Priti Patel’s future in doubt after senior Home Office civil servant resigns

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Sir Philip Rutnam will sue for unfair dismissal, saying the home secretary began a ‘vicious’ campaign against him

Priti Patel’s future as the home secretary is being called into question this weekend after the most senior civil servant in her department resigned in a row over her alleged bullying of staff – and then announced he would sue the government for constructive dismissal.

In a move described as “unprecedented” and “extraordinary” by two former heads of the home civil service, Sir Philip Rutnam accused Patel of orchestrating a “vicious” campaign against him and of “shouting and swearing, belittling people, making unreasonable and repeated demands – behaviour that created fear and that needed some bravery to call out.”

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‘No more deal or no deal’: Brexit language diktat for Foreign Office staff

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Downing Street issues series of dos and don’ts on language department staff must use

Foreign Office staff have been banned from using certain words and phrases in discussing Brexit – including “implementation period”, “no deal”, “special partnership” and even Brexit itself unless in certain narrow circumstances.

The directive underlines the degree to which Downing Street is determined that everyone in the department follows its ideological lead in using language that frames Britain’s departure from the European Union as a clean break.

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Johnson to cabinet: shape up or I’ll sack you within weeks

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Top ministers are warned to stay off TV with reshuffle alert part of plan by Dominic Cummings

Boris Johnson is to tell cabinet ministers that they must focus all their energy on developing policies for post-Brexit Britain – or face the sack in a wide-ranging cabinet reshuffle within weeks.

Related: Liberal, nuanced, cautious: is this the real Boris Johnson?

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Dominic Cummings calls for ‘weirdos and misfits’ for No 10 jobs

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Boris Johnson’s chief adviser touts for ‘unusual’ applicants outside of the Oxbridge set

Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s chief adviser, has written a rambling blog calling for “weirdos and misfits with odd skills” to apply for new jobs within No 10.

In a move way outside the usual recruitment procedures of Whitehall, the key architect of Johnson’s election victory has outlined a set of “unusual” qualities he wishes to see in applicants in the blog post which runs to nearly 3,000 words.

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Johnson to tell new Tory MPs they have to change party for good

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PM intends to set plans for Brexit bill, carry out minor cabinet reshuffle and present Queen’s speech before Christmas

Boris Johnson will tell the next generation of more than 100 new Tory MPs that they have a responsibility to change the the party for good, as he sets out plans for a first vote on his Brexit bill before the festive season.

With just a week until Christmas, the UK prime minister intends to accelerate plans for his Brexit bill, carry out a minor cabinet reshuffle and present a Queen’s speech, before shifting his focus to reshaping Whitehall in the new year.

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Revealed: Jennifer Arcuri got visa from scheme run by former Johnson official

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Exclusive: Whistleblower tells of links between Paola Cuneo, PM and US businesswoman

A Whitehall official who ran the scheme that granted Jennifer Arcuri a coveted entrepreneur visa had worked for Boris Johnson when he was mayor, the Guardian has learned.

The US businesswoman, who is at the centre of a conflict of interest row over her friendship with the prime minister, beat nearly 2,000 applicants to gain one of 200 sought-after tier 1 entrepreneur visas on the government’s Sirius programme after Johnson helped promote her firm, Innotech, by giving keynote speeches at her events.

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Hopes of clean break with EU are nonsense, says ex-Brexit official

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A no-deal exit would trigger complex negotiations, argues former top DexEU civil servant

Claiming a no-deal Brexit represents a clean break with the European Union is “nonsensical”, according to Philip Rycroft, the former permanent secretary at the Department for Exiting the EU.

Boris Johnson has promised to extricate the UK from the EU on 31 October “come what may” – and has hinted that he could try to get around legislation mandating him to request a Brexit delay.

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‘Culture of fear’ claims as Javid confronts PM over adviser’s sacking

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Dominic Cummings ‘pissed off’ about briefings on pay and gender balance – report

A furious Sajid Javid confronted Boris Johnson on Friday and demanded an explanation of why his media adviser was sacked without his knowledge, amid claims that a deep “culture of fear” has taken hold within the government.

Sonia Khan, Javid’s media adviser, was escorted from No 10 by an armed police officer after a meeting with Johnson’s top strategist, Dominic Cummings, in which she was accused of being dishonest about her contact with the former chancellor Philip Hammond and one of his ex-advisers, who have been trying to block a no-deal Brexit.

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No 10 furious at leak of paper predicting shortages after no-deal Brexit

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Government figures seek to play down predictions of food, medicine and fuel shortages in leaked document

Downing Street has reacted with fury to the leak of an official document predicting that a no-deal Brexit would lead to food, medicine and petrol shortages, with No 10 sources blaming the disclosure on a hostile former minister intent on ruining Boris Johnson’s trip to see EU leaders this week.

The leaked document, detailing preparations under Operation Yellowhammer, argues that the most likely scenario is severe extended delays to medicine supplies and shortages of some fresh foods, combined with price rises, if there is a no-deal Brexit on 31 October.

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UK less able to cope with hard Brexit than it was in spring, say officials

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Exclusive: Analysis includes stark assessments of potential problems including panic-buying and civil disorder

The UK is currently less able to cope with a hard Brexit than it was in the spring, with the real risk of panic-buying in the run-up to Christmas and civil disorder if the country leaves the EU without a deal on 31 October, an official document reveals.

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, has made Michael Gove responsible for “turbo-charging” Brexit planning, and on Thursday the new chancellor, Sajid Javid, announced an extra £2.1bn of funding to prepare for a no-deal exit.

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Johnson has thrown US ambassador under the bus, say top Tories

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Theresa May said to be considering controversial step of appointing new envoy

Boris Johnson is under pressure over his role in Sir Kim Darroch’s resignation as British ambassador to Washington, with critics accusing the likely next prime minister of throwing the envoy “under the bus”.

In a shock move which prompted the senior civil servant at the Foreign Office to call an all-staff meeting to reassure “shaken” diplomats, Darroch announced on Wednesday he could no longer continue in his role following a leak of official cables in which he criticised Donald Trump.

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