UNITED KINGDOM
Senior UK Public Servants fear they could be forced to break the law and face prosecution if they help Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s Government defy the will of Parliament.
After Mr Johnson’s insistence the Government will not comply with an Act of Parliament designed to avoid a no-deal exit from the European Union (Brexit), the FDA union, which represents PS employees, has written to the Prime Minister demanding public assurances that Whitehall staff will not be asked to break the law or the Civil Service Code.
General Secretary of the FDA, Dave Penman said the situation was causing increasing consternation in Whitehall.
“The endless speculation that the Government will refuse to implement an Act of Parliament may serve short-term political interest, but as Prime Minister your responsibilities go beyond tactical political game playing,” Mr Penman wrote.
He said only Mr Johnson, as Prime Minister, could end this speculation.
“I am therefore asking you to categorically and publicly assure the Civil Service that no Civil Servant will be asked to breach their obligation under the Civil Service Code to comply with the law and uphold the administration of justice,” Mr Penman wrote.
The FDA, which represents the UK’s most senior Government officials, sought advice from a leading employment lawyer after receiving queries from dozens of members across several Departments dealing with aspects of Brexit who were worried about their legal position.
Mr Penman said the advice was that senior PS staff could face disciplinary action or even criminal charges in some circumstances if they complied with a Government instruction to break the law.
A former Head of the Public Service, Lord Kerslake (pictured) said it was “quite extraordinary that there is even a question of putting Civil Servants in a position where they could break the Civil Service Code and that Ministers are seriously contemplating breaking the law”.
“This development confirms the very serious place we have now reached,” Lord Kerslake said.
London, 14 September 2019
