Mark Francois is clearly incapable of understanding that civil servants can act impartially, regardless of their personal views, because he is incapable of such action himself. Civil servants only act under political authority: they advise but ministers decide. If Francois has a problem with the Government’s deal on Brexit then his ire should be directed at ministers, not those who have loyally served them. His latest comments, however, go well beyond what is acceptable political discourse. At a time when public servants are receiving death threats, he cannot hide behind a metaphorical flourish when he is accusing civil servants of being traitors to our country. So whilst he may hope that any response to his incendiary comments will be very ‘British’, the reality for those who have dedicated their lives to serving governments of every colour is that they are being targeted and threatened. Francois puffs out his chest proclaiming his British patriotic values. He then seeks to undermine one of the country’s greatest institutions — an impartial civil service — and knowingly uses language that could result in public servants fearing for their lives. Those are not the British values that I recognise.
Yesterday, FDA staff and reps attended the 2026 Fast Stream annual Base Camp, welcoming this year’s new joiners to the scheme and sharing the benefits of FDA membership with them.
The FDA’s National Officer for Northern Ireland Robert Murtagh has written to Speaker of the Assembly, Edwin Poots, asking him to remind MLAs that when officials appear before the Assembly, impartiality must not be brought into question.
If Prime Minister Andy Burnham wants a different political culture, he needs to start with the Ministerial Code says Dave Penman.
