Whitehall in 2021 is like a hall of mirrors, a maze of illusions and broken promises. Revelations, which a few years ago would have caused resignation, are simply shrugged off and brushed into oblivion.
Last November the Prime Minister announced he backed the Home Secretary Priti Patel after it had been confirmed she broke the ministerial code by bullying civil servants. This caused Standards Chief Sir Alex Allan, who had been asked to investigate the allegations, to resign.
Only a few weeks ago the High Court found Health Secretary Matt Hancock to have been acting unlawfully with contracts on PPE for medical staff. His response was that there wasn’t time for regular procurement because of the urgency of the situation when the pandemic broke out in 2020. Hancock also claimed there had never actually been a shortage of PPE.
BBC Panorama shows in their documentary Cashing in on Covid how the Government created a VIP lane for friends to win contracts.
Michael Gove has been found in contempt of Parliament, just like his ally and adviser Dominic Cummings in 2019, by simply not showing up to a committee hearing where difficult questions might be expected.
For centuries, politicians have – at least given the impression to – been proud to honourably serve the country. If they were found to lie or break the law, there was a public scandal and they had to resign. There has been a distinctive shift in standards for cabinet ministers in this Government which seems to normalise contradictions, hiding, lying and breaking the ministerial code.
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