Sir Philip Rutnam, the top civil servant at the Home Office has quit his post citing a “vicious and orchestrated campaign” against him by the home secretary Priti Patel.
The Home Office permanent secretary – who has 33 years experience working in Whitehall –announced his resignation today (Saturday) and said he intends to sue the government for constructive dismissal.
Rutnam’s resignation...
‘Bully’ Patel demanded removal of Home Office top official
Home secretary Priti Patel has been accused of “bullying” and “belittling” officials and “creating an ‘atmosphere of fear’” as it emerged she has tried to get rid of her most senior civil servant “after a toxic clash at the top of the Home Office”.
The Times splashed with the headline “Home Office at war after staff accuse bully Patel” with...
Whitehall
Government’s ‘toxic’ and ‘xenophobic’ immigration plans ‘spell absolute disaster’ for care
The government’s new immigration policy has been condemned as “toxic” and “xenophobic” with business set to be hit hard by plans that "spell absolute disaster” for Britain’s care system. Home...
Whitehall
Chancellor Sajid Javid quits – replaced by son-in-law of Indian billionaire
Chancellor Sajid Javid has sensationally quit after the prime minster ordered a cull of all of his Treasury advisors at the start of Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle. Javid’s resignation –...
Whitehall
‘Victory for passengers’ as Northern rail renationalised; Javid gives HS2 boost
The mayors of Manchester and Liverpool have hailed the government’s decision to renationalise the failing Northern rail franchise as a “victory for passengers” while calling for major investment to...
PM threatens ministers and plans to move House of Lords to...
Boris Johnson has warned ministers to focus on their jobs instead of the television cameras to ‘get policy done’ - or get the sack.
The PM’s threat comes as the Conservative party chairman James Cleverly confirmed the government has plans to move the House of Lords to York as part of wide-scale reforms to “level-up” post-Brexit Britain.
“Trust me, we’re going...
BA boss slams Flybe bailout and files official complaint against government
The boss of British Airways has slammed the UK government’s rescue deal for the regional airline FlyBe with an official complaint filed to the European Commission against the plan.
Ministers announced a rescue package for the country’s biggest domestic airline carrier on Tuesday night that includes a £100 million tax deferral to keep Flybe flying.
Willie Walsh, the chief of executive...
Civil Servants set for seismic shake-up
Civil servants are “woefully unprepared” for a seismic transformation of Whitehall under new plans the prime minister wants to implement.
The sweeping reforms - which include merging, abolishing and creating new government departments – are just a “tiny fraction” of wide-scale plans to shake-up the civil service.
Downing Street is set to embark on the project this spring, following the UK’s...
‘Lives endangered’ by Cabinet Office’s New Year Honours data breach
Anti-terrorism officers, high profile politicians and famous celebrities have had their home addresses published online along with more than 1,000 recipients of the New Year Honours.
The Cabinet Office has been accused of endangering lives through the accidental publication of details which include house numbers and postcodes and said it is investigating how it happened and apologised for the incident,...
Brexit, NHS and terrorism dominate ‘radical’ Queen’s Speech
The monarch returned to parliament for the second time in nine weeks to deliver what Boris Johnson claims is the “most radical” Queen’s Speech “in a generation”.
Brexit, the NHS and terrorist sentencing – three key issues from the election campaign – dominated the speech which also laid out plans for constitutional reform and measures to deal with spies and...
