Civil Service Impartiality

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 3:34 pm on 6 March 2023.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Brendan Clarke-Smith Brendan Clarke-Smith Conservative, Bassetlaw 3:34, 6 March 2023

Regarding the timing of the approach, the Leader of the Opposition failed around 10 times this morning, on LBC, to answer the actual question. Listeners will be questioning whether “Mr Rules” missed the rules. I also note that today’s Daily Telegraph contains a piece from the constitutional expert Sir Vernon Bogdanor, who says:

“The issue is important, since, if the approach was made before publication, the hope of future employment might—even if only subconsciously—have influenced its content. So it would not be possible any longer to regard Sue Gray as an impartial investigator.”

Does the Minister agree that perceptions matter?