Five ex-civil service chiefs urge PM to strengthen standards rules

Five ex-civil service chiefs urge Boris Johnson to strengthen the code of conduct for ministers and to roll out tougher punishments for ‘cheating’ the rules in the wake of sleaze allegations

  • Every living former Cabinet secretary has urged Boris Johnson to overhaul rules
  • They want the PM to accept recommendations made by a standards watchdog
  • Would see a strengthened ministerial code of conduct and tougher punishments

Five former civil service chiefs have urged Boris Johnson to strengthen the ministerial code of conduct and toughen punishments for rule breaking in the wake of the sleaze scandal.   

Every living ex-Cabinet secretary has signed a letter calling for the Prime Minister to overhaul the current standards system to make it harder for ministers who try to ‘cheat’ the rules. 

The five figures – Lord Butler, Lord Wilson, Lord Turnbull, Lord O’Donnell and Lord Sedwill – said the ministerial code ‘must be strictly enforced’. 

But they argued the current standards system is not up to scratch and must be improved. 


Lord O’Donnell (pictured left) and Lord Sedwill (pictured right) are among five former civil service chiefs who have urged Boris Johnson to strengthen the ministerial code of conduct

Every living ex-Cabinet secretary signed a letter calling for the Prime Minister to overhaul the current standards system to make it harder for ministers who try to ‘cheat’ rules

The Committee on Standards in Public Life published a report at the start of November which made numerous recommendations to strengthen the ministerial rule book. 

The recommendations included that the ministerial code should be reconstituted ‘solely as a code of conduct on ethical standards’ and should include a range of sanctions which the PM could impose, including apologies, fines and asking for a resignation. 

The committee also said the Government’s Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests should have their powers increased to allow them to initiate investigations into potential breaches of the code and to determine if a breach has taken place.

The five former Cabinet secretaries have called on Mr Johnson to adopt the recommendations made by the committee.           

In a letter to The Times, they said of the ministerial code: ‘It must be strictly enforced, but the system in place needs ways of recognising that some breaches are more important than others. 

‘Rules, though, will only take us so far. Good people will behave well. Bad people may find ways round whatever rules there are, and we should aim to frame regulations to make cheating them harder. But ultimately we need all in positions of trust to set an example.’ 

They also said there is an ‘urgent need’ to put key standards bodies – including the Commissioner for Public Appointments and the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Interests – on a statutory footing. 

The letter comes after Mr Johnson’s attempt to move on from sleaze allegations battering the Conservatives was thrown into disarray when a Tory MP blocked a bid to endorse a standards investigation into Owen Paterson and scrap controversial Government-backed standards reforms.

Veteran Conservative Christopher Chope shouted ‘object’ in the Commons chamber last night when a motion to overturn the widely criticised attempt was put forward, meaning it could not be approved.

The motion aimed to rescind the so-called Leadsom amendment, which looked to establish a review of the MPs standards investigation process in a bid to delay former Cabinet minister Mr Paterson’s suspension for breaking lobbying rules. 

The motion also sought to endorse a standards report which would have suspended Mr Paterson from Parliament for 30 days if he had remained an MP.

He quit as the Conservative MP for North Shropshire following the botched attempt by the Government to delay his suspension.

The matter is now scheduled to be debated again in the House of Commons this afternoon. 

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