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In a development that will do little to quell accusations that Whitehall officials are overly politicised, a staffer at a Labour-associated think tank is reportedly taking on a senior role in the Civil Service. Guido Fawkes reports that Jess Sargeant, previously director of constitutional change at Labour Together, is to begin a job at the Cabinet Office’s Propriety and Constitution Group, which acts as an ethics watchdog for Government departments.
If confirmed the news from @GuidoFawkes that Jess Sargeant, a Labour Together staffer, may have been appointed as a senior civil servant in the Cabinet Office’s Propriety & Ethics team is absolutely extraordinary
I don’t think anything like this has been done before
Nobody… pic.twitter.com/ISaAfTKWla
— Henry Newman (@HenryNewman) August 20, 2024
Keir Starmer’s government has already received criticism from the Opposition for appointing civil servants who have previously worked for ideologically-aligned think tanks, including Labour Together. Former Downing Street adviser Henry Newman labelled the appointment of Sargeant, who has now locked her social media accounts, “absolutely extraordinary” and “shocking”. In the last hour Politico has reported that Sargeant was “hired to advise on constitutional issues, which is her area of expertise, and not ethics”. All above board, then…
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