UNITED KINGDOM
United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johnson says he has full confidence in his embattled Home Secretary, Priti Patel (pictured), saying she is doing “an outstanding job”.
Ms Patel is at the centre of allegations that she bullied senior public servants in her Department and forced its head to resign — claims she strongly denies.
However, the allegations against Ms Patel both from the Home Office and in her previous role as Minister for International Development keep on coming and, under pressure, Mr Johnson has launched an internal inquiry into whether Ms Patel has broken the Ministerial code of conduct.
The row erupted after the top public servant at the Home Office, Sir Philip Rutnam, resigned accusing Ms Patel of involvement in “vicious” briefings against him after he raised concerns about her behaviour.
One aide of Ms Patel hit back accusing “dark forces” in the Public Service of trying to undermine her.
Program Director at the Institute for Government think tank, Alex Thomas said the row at the Home Office showed an “extreme and extraordinary breakdown in relations at the very top”.
It comes as the Ministry faces the challenge of delivering two of Mr Johnson’s key promises from the December General Election — to provide 20,000 new police officers, and introduce a new immigration system by the end of the year.
The row has also broken out against a backdrop of tensions between Mr Johnson’s office and the permanent, politically neutral public servants who run the Government.
Mr Johnson’s senior adviser, Dominic Cummings – who also worked on the campaign to leave the European Union – has been open about his desire to shake up what he sees as a slow-moving establishment.
It is reported that he has drawn up a list of top public servants to be replaced because they were “at odds” with Mr Johnson’s team — Sir Philip among them.
London, 7 March 2020
