Labour demands independent probe into 'unprecedented' civil service briefing against Jeremy Corbyn
4 min read
Labour has demanded an independent investigation into "entirely unacceptable and unprecedented" briefing against Jeremy Corbyn by senior civil servants.
The party leader's official spokesman said the Cabinet Office must not be allowed to "mark their own homework" by carrying out the probe into comments made to journalists at a Whitehall away day.
Mr Corbyn is holding talks on Wednesday with Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill, who has hit out at the briefing, which led to a front page story in The Times which claimed the Labour leader was too "frail" to become Prime Minister.
Labour has insisted the claims are entirely false and proof of an establishment plot to undermine the party.
Mr Corbyn's spokesman said: "What's taken place is clearly not only entirely unacceptable but unprecedented in recent times. We have clear evidence of senior civil servants briefing against the elected leader of the opposition.
"Not only briefing against him, but also briefing on the basis of false information, namely that he is ill or impaired. We are talking about a very clear breach of civil service neutrality."
On Sir Mark's decision to set up a Cabinet Office inquiry, the spokesman said: "It's not appropriate for the civil service to be marking their own homework. There needs to be an independent level to the investigation to restore confidence in those at the apex of the civil service."
He added: "This is not an attack on the civil service as a whole. The civil service rightly attracts respect and confidence around the world. It's an extremely effective, professional body of people.
"What we're talking about is a small group of senior civil servants who have briefed against the leader of the opposition. That is not a conspiracy theory, that is a fact."
Asked why he thought the civil service would brief against Mr Corbyn, the spokesman said: "There is clearly resistance and anxiety in sections of the establishment about the election of a radical, transformative Labour government that is determined to redistribute wealth and power. That is clearly the context in which this has taken place."
The spokesman confirmed that the Labour leader has a muscle problem behind his eye which sometimes causes him to "squint", but other than that is in excellent health.
Meanwhile, the boss of Whitehall’s largest trade union has backed the demand for an independent probe into the civil service.
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka told PoliticsHome that failing to allow an investigation could “undermine confidence” in democracy - as he heaped praise on the “sharp” Labour leader.
Mr Serwotka, whose union represents tens of thousands of rank-and-file civil servants, said: “I have known Jeremy Corbyn for over 20 years.
"He is one of the fittest and sharpest people I know. "So the idea that he is unfit for the office of Prime Minister is frankly laughable.
"If there is any suggestion that the impartiality of the civil service has been breached then it is right that it is investigated independently. To not do so could undermine confidence in our democracy."
The intervention comes a day after the boss of the separate FDA union - which represents senior Whitehall officials - warned the Labour leader not to peddle “conspiracies” by demanding that the civil service steps aside from any inquiry.
Dave Penman told PoliticsHome: “Claims of Establishment conspiracies and calls for independent investigations are not only disproportionate, but only serve to undermine the impartiality he professes to support."
It also emerged on Wednesday that Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill has written to the permanent secretaries of all government departments demanding a crackdown on "incredibly damaging” unauthorised contact with the press.
A letter - dated 1 July and revealed by the Guido Fawkes website - said officials had "loyally supported" Theresa May over the past three years, with Sir Mark saying they would need "to do the same for a government formed under a new Prime Minister, as we also would do were there to be a change of the party in Government".
He added: "In particular, I want to be very clear that unauthorised briefing to the media about politicians or policy will not be tolerated. It is incredibly damaging for the overall integrity of the civil service and can undermine the confidence that ministers - and ministers in future governments have in the civil service. It is a breach of the Civil Service Code and disciplinary action will be taken against anyone who has been found to be in breach of this provision."
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