The United Kingdom union representing Senior Public Servants is issuing a court challenge to Prime Minister, Boris Johnson’s decision to stand by Home Secretary, Priti Patel who is embroiled in a bullying furore.
The FDA union is seeking to overturn Mr Johnson’s decision to disregard the findings of his Adviser on Ministerial Standards, Sir Alex Allan (pictured), in order to back Ms Patel last year.
Sir Alex resigned after Mr Johnson contradicted his advice by judging that Ms Patel did not breach the rules despite being found to have bullied staff.
In an investigation into Ms Patel’s behaviour published in November, Sir Alex found that the Minister had not always treated Public Servants with “consideration and respect”.
He concluded that Ms Patel’s behaviour, which was said to include some occasions of shouting and swearing, met the definition of bullying adopted by the Civil Service.
Ministers are usually expected to resign if they breach the code but Mr Johnson overruled Sir Alex, simply stating that Ms Patel had not fallen foul of the rules.
FDA General Secretary, Dave Penman said the affair had obliterated Public Servants’ trust in the Ministerial code.
Mr Penman said a survey since taken of FDA members who were most likely to work with Ministers found that nearly 90 per cent said they had no confidence in the Ministerial code as a mechanism for dealing with bullying and harassment by Ministers.
“As the union that represents many of the staff who work day-to-day with Ministers, we cannot simply let this issue rest,” Mr Penman said.
“Mr Johnson’s decision, which he said reflected the Home Secretary’s assertion that her actions were unintentional, potentially allows Ministers to avoid the consequences of their behaviour in future by pleading that it should be the intent of their actions which is important, not the consequences,” he said.
Mr Penman said it was not about whether the Home Secretary should be forced to resign — “that is a matter for the Prime Minister; this is simply about how the Ministerial code is interpreted”.
London, 20 February 2021
