CentreRight: The civil servant sacked for calling Hazel Blears a liar
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The civil servant sacked for calling Hazel Blears a liar
Chris Galley is the Research Director for Sunlight Centre for Open Politics in June 2009. He worked as a civil servant in London from 2006 for the Home Office where he remained for three years working in several ministerial offices. Chris was dismissed by the Home Office in May 2009 following his exposure of endemic government failures relating to immigration. The Sunlight Centre is a non-partisan organisation, advocating political transparency and openness.
Lisa Greenwood, an office administrator at the Department of Children, Schools and Families, posted an anonymous message on the Internet at the height of the furore over abuse of the second home allowances. It was traced to her work email account and the 38-year-old was initially suspended before being fired from her £16,000 post. Miss Greenwood, from Widnes in Cheshire, had been angered by Miss Blears's ability to avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of her designated second home. Miss Blears wrote out a cheque for more than £13,000 to cover capital gains tax - claiming she had done nothing wrong - before resigning from her job as communities minister on the eve of the crucial local and European elections in June. She subsequently apologised for her timing of her resignation, saying it was "stupid, thoughtless and cruel", then survived a vote of no confidence by her local party in Salford. On May 13, Miss Greenwood wrote on the internet of Miss Blears: "How dare you wave a cheque about on national TV, saying that you are sorry.
The administrator, who had worked for the DCFS for seven months, was brought before a disciplinary panel and fired on May 22. A DCSF spokesman said Miss Greenwood had been found guilty of gross misconduct and had brought the Government department into disrepute.
I thought my dismissal in April 2009 of this year would have shown senior civil servants that they need to seriously reconsider their Human Resource and investigative procedure. Miss Greenwood's email was intercepted so fast and reported to the 'authorities' enabling her to be identified and then dismissed within a matter of weeks. This seems to illustrate the rise of the surveillance society within the civil service under the orders of 'stasi' like regime that has been ordered to stamp out the slightest deviation from the norm.
In comparison to my own actions, Miss Greenwood did not leak anything, nor was she seeking to change the country this was merely her private opinion. Considering the fact that the post was made anonymously on a non-governmental website and the language was in no way derogatory to Miss Blears personally I cannot understand why Miss Greenwood has been dismissed. I know from having gone through a Civil Service disciplinary procedure that often the panel who conducts the hearing their mind has already been made up by a higher authority. In my case the Sir David Normington wrote to all Home Office officials the day before my hearing reminding them of their political impartiality,
"When we sign up to work in the civil service we agree to work to the best of our ability for the democratically-elected government of the day,"
It would have taken a very brave official to go against Sir David in this case, therefore my fate was sealed and I am sure that this was the same for Miss Greenwood.
If Miss Greenwood had posted her comments from a personal email account her employers would have not found out and the office gossip about Miss Blears and her expenses would have continued amongst her staff. I think Miss Greenwood has just been unlucky to have been caught for a minor misdemeanor, similar to being back at school and caught at the back of the bike sheds having a sneaky cigarette and you don't get expelled for that!
The Sunlight Centre for Open Politics will be launching something big next Monday on 13th July 2009 - watch this space!
CentreRight: The civil servant sacked for calling Hazel Blears a liar
« Newsnight's Editor is taking us for fools | Main | Vince Cable was wrong and Andrew Lilico right about the return of the above-100% mortgage »
The civil servant sacked for calling Hazel Blears a liar
Chris Galley is the Research Director for Sunlight Centre for Open Politics in June 2009. He worked as a civil servant in London from 2006 for the Home Office where he remained for three years working in several ministerial offices. Chris was dismissed by the Home Office in May 2009 following his exposure of endemic government failures relating to immigration. The Sunlight Centre is a non-partisan organisation, advocating political transparency and openness.
Lisa Greenwood, an office administrator at the Department of Children, Schools and Families, posted an anonymous message on the Internet at the height of the furore over abuse of the second home allowances. It was traced to her work email account and the 38-year-old was initially suspended before being fired from her £16,000 post. Miss Greenwood, from Widnes in Cheshire, had been angered by Miss Blears's ability to avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of her designated second home. Miss Blears wrote out a cheque for more than £13,000 to cover capital gains tax - claiming she had done nothing wrong - before resigning from her job as communities minister on the eve of the crucial local and European elections in June. She subsequently apologised for her timing of her resignation, saying it was "stupid, thoughtless and cruel", then survived a vote of no confidence by her local party in Salford. On May 13, Miss Greenwood wrote on the internet of Miss Blears: "How dare you wave a cheque about on national TV, saying that you are sorry.
The administrator, who had worked for the DCFS for seven months, was brought before a disciplinary panel and fired on May 22. A DCSF spokesman said Miss Greenwood had been found guilty of gross misconduct and had brought the Government department into disrepute.
I thought my dism
issal in April 2009 of this year would have shown senior civil servants that they need to seriously reconsider their Human Resource and investigative procedure. Miss Greenwood's email was intercepted so fast and reported to the 'authorities' enabling her to be identified and then dismissed within a matter of weeks. This seems to illustrate the rise of the surveillance society within the civil service under the orders of 'stasi' like regime that has been ordered to stamp out the slightest deviation from the norm.
In comparison to my own actions, Miss Greenwood did not leak anything, nor was she seeking to change the country this was merely her private opinion. Considering the fact that the post was made anonymously on a non-governmental website and the language was in no way derogatory to Miss Blears personally I cannot understand why Miss Greenwood has been dismissed. I know from having gone through a Civil Service disciplinary procedure that often the panel who conducts the hearing their mind has already been made up by a higher authority. In my case the Sir David Normington wrote to all Home Office officials the day before my hearing reminding them of their political impartiality,
"When we sign up to work in the civil service we agree to work to the best of our ability for the democratically-elected government of the day,"
It would have taken a very brave official to go against Sir David in this case, therefore my fate was sealed and I am sure that this was the same for Miss Greenwood.
If Miss Greenwood had posted her comments from a personal email account her employers would have not found out and the office gossip about Miss Blears and her expenses would have continued amongst her staff. I think Miss Greenwood has just been unlucky to have been caught for a minor misdemeanor, similar to being back at school and caught at the back of the bike sheds having a sneaky cigarette and you don't get expelled for that!
The Sunlight Centre for Open Politics will be launching something big next Monday on 13th July 2009 - watch this space!