Today, it was reported that Civil servants are being warned against inviting ‘woken’ speakers who challenge government policies at Whitehall events.
In a Cabinet Office memo, staff are urged to do their due diligence on all individuals prior to asking for them to attend internal functions.
According to Sunday Telegraph, the missive stated that checks should be made to verify ‘impartiality.
This move follows a backlash against speakers criticizing the Government’s being drafted into Whitehall social networking or events.
Civil servants are warned against inviting ‘woke speakers’ to Whitehall events that attack government policies
Last month’s episode saw the Home Office stop a Cambridge Left-wing academic from giving a lecture after it was revealed that she had made offensive comments regarding Priti Patel.
The 53-year-old Professor Priyamvada Guppal was invited by the government to share her views on how department policies relate to colonial history.
The academic who was professor of English and postcolonial studies at the university, however, stated that her invitation had been cancelled on short notice.
A tweet she used to send from her past claimed that Ms. Patel, Home Secretary, held anti-black attitudes typical of East African Indians.
Tweet: “Priti Patel reminds us that many Asians from British Africa were ferociously hostile to black people and were used as a tool by colonial administrations for keeping them in place.” She brings this attitude to the government.
Ms. Patel was not born in London. However, her Indian parents lived previously in Uganda. Members of her extended family were expelled in the 1972 dictator Idi amin’s antisiasian purge.
Professor Gopal made a statement via her blog that she believed her tweet wasn’t racist.
She said: “My criticisms about the hawkish Home Secretary and her participation to anti-blackness is also publicly record.” I was under the impression that politicians could be criticised in democracy.
Professor Gopal replied to this story, tweeting that her status had been “cancelled”.
“Proudly anti this incompetent, vicious and anti-people anti-people government.” It’s true: PriyamvadaGopal is anti Tory government,’ she stated.
A memo from the Cabinet Office senior mandarin was circulated in Whitehall. It warned that “the relationship between civil servants and ministers is at risk” if there were no efforts to preserve impartiality.
The statement said that it was aware of the difficulty in determining whether an activity is considered political or if someone is speaking against certain key government policies.
“This is the reason why all cross-Government network must conduct due diligence on all speakers who are invited to events as well as any communications that may be sent to them to verify impartiality.
Last month’s episode saw a Cambridge left-wing academic being stopped from giving a lecture to the Home Office following allegations that she made disparaging remarks about Priti Paitel (pictured).
Professor Gopal responded to today’s story by tweeting that she was ‘cancelled.
It continued, “Networks and their members should complete these checks to prevent invitations being issued individuals or organisations that have commented on government policy, decisions and approaches, as well as individuals within government, that might be considered political.
“Commentary might have been posted on social media”
According to The Cabinet Office, today’s announcement stated: “Employees should engage in discussion on many different topics. And all activities must conform with the Civil Service Code.
“We remind departments and staff of our expectations regarding events.
“We recently implemented a more thorough due diligence process when considering guest speakers to ensure that they are in compliance with best practices across the government.”