March of Westminster’s thought police

ANOTHER day, another tightening of the thumbscrews.

The Ministerial Code — the rules of conduct that govern whitehall — was quietly updated yesterday.

It spells out, for the first time, that ‘ harassing, bullying or other inappropriate or discriminating behaviour wherever it takes place is not consistent with the Ministerial Code and will not be tolerated’.

In this age of snowflakery, that could mean almost anything, from asking the way to the ladies’ (gender discrimination), complimenting someone on their tie (inappropriate), asking a person to complete a piece of work (harassing), or even just having a mild disagreement (bullying).

Anyone who knows anything about government will see this for what it really is: a triumph for the system, a licence for officials to intimidate ministers — and another nail in the coffin of sanity.