Patel row civil servant was wrong to quit, says Cabinet Secretary

THE Home Office’s chief civil servant should not have resigned on television over his rows with Priti Patel, his former boss has indicated.

Asked by MPS if Sir Philip Rutnam had to walk away from his role as permanent secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, the Cabinet Secretary, said: “No.”

He added: “If a permanent secretary believes their minister’s conduct has breached the ministerial code and they have been unable to resolve it with them in person then I would expect that permanent secretary to bring it to me.

“I would need to either intervene myself, discuss it with the Prime Minister or take appropriate action.”

Sir Mark is leading an investigation to “establish the facts” that led to Sir Philip’s televised resignation statement in which he accused Ms Patel of bullying and belittling civil servants.

His report, which is thought unlikely to be published, is due within weeks and will determine whether Ms Patel breached the ministerial code.

Sir Mark said the breakdown in relations between the two was “very regrettable” and that he wished it could have been avoided. Sir Mark said that differences between ministers and their senior officials were normally resolved in private. When they could not be overcome, it was his job to step in to “restore harmony”.

“I don’t think we should necessarily try to write further regulations around relationships when the vast majority of cases are conducted professionally and in accordance with both the letter and the spirit of the various codes,” he said.

“There are tensions and differences, we deal with those when they arise. In general, I think the mechanisms we have available to us are adequate to the task.”

Sir Mark said the ministerial code already made clear that bullying, harassment and discrimination were unacceptable and he played down the idea that formal definitions should be written into the code.

The Cabinet Secretary refused to discuss what he told the Prime Minister on appointing Ms Patel regarding previous bullying allegations when she was a minister in other departments, saying his advice was “always private”.

Sir Philip has threatened to sue for constructive dismissal although Sir Mark indicated he had yet to file legal papers.

Sir Mark said he was not expecting his advice to be disclosed to any employment tribunal although he would take legal advice if it arose.

‘In general, I think the mechanisms we have available to us are adequate to the task’