23-12-2004, 03:14 AM
|
#1 (permalink)
|
|
Administrator
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Long Ashton, Bristol
Posts: 10,140
Party: None
|
Whitehall to block favours for ministers after Blunkett
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/pol...p?story=595634
Quote:
Britain's senior civil servants agreed yesterday to bring in new rules in the wake of the David Blunkett affair to stop ministers abusing their position by giving special treatment to friends or constituents.
The plans were discussed at the weekly meeting in Whitehall of the permanent secretaries of all government departments.
In a move called "the revenge of the Sir Humphreys", the senior civil servants agreed that the need for tougher rules was shown by the inquiry INTO phpbb_allegations that Mr Blunkett fast-tracked a residence visa application for the nanny of his former lover, Kimberly Quinn.
Their initiative is a coded warning to Tony Blair, who has dragged his feet over demands for a new Civil Service Act to prevent the politicisation of Whitehall and put the relationship between ministers and officials on a statutory basis.
Mr Blunkett's hopes of an early return to the Cabinet were dealt a double blow yesterday. John Prescott, the Deputy Prime Minister, said on BBC Radio 4: "He [Mr Blunkett] admitted that he had a conflict in the personal handling of this case. It was contrary to the rules of ministers. He has been found guilty of the offence, basically, that's what happened. Not so much an open verdict.
"He [Sir Alan] found he had intervened. But ... he has faced up to his full responsibility and resigned. That's the most a minister can do."
|
|
|
|
Linear Mode
