Whitehall squares off over ‘tiny’ portrait of the Queen
Business Secretary’s aides at odds with civil servants over rehanging of picture
CIVIL servants working for the Business Department have been accused of showing disrespect to the Queen after they refused to rehang a large portrait of her in their offices.
The Sunday Telegraph can disclose that allies of Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, have been locked in a long-running battle with officials at 1 Victoria Street over the picture.
The dispute stemmed from delays in returning the portrait of the Queen back to the main entrance of the building, where it has been displayed prominently for several years.
It had been temporarily removed while the reception area was refurbished, with the expectation among political aides in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy being that it would be returned once this had been completed.
However, after several weeks, insiders in the department noticed that it had not been returned and contacted the civil servants involved in the project to request that it be rehung.
Instead, after weeks of ignoring instructions from Mr Kwarteng’s aides, the civil servants chose to erect a much smaller picture, which sources said was mounted in a frame measuring approximately 8 x 6 inches.
The move has infuriated members of the Business Secretary’s team, with sources also revealing that a memorial plaque commemorating officials from the former Ministry of Power who died during the Second World War has also been consigned to the “basement”. “I think some of my colleagues forget we work for Her Majesty’s Government,” an official said.
A second added: “The new picture may as well be the size of a stamp. It’s laughable.”
Another source said the row was one of several to have taken place in recent weeks.
A second dispute erupted when civil servants in the department attempted to remove the word “Christmas” from official letters that were due to be sent to various business leaders.
According to the insider, the officials involved had suggested the reference to Christmas be expunged and the term “festive season” used instead, as it was felt this was more inclusive.
However, they were eventually overturned after a lengthy debate over email.
Clashes between ministers and their aides with civil servants have grown in number in recent months as the Government pursues a socalled “war on woke”.
It comes after it emerged in November last year that civil servants in the Cabinet Office had objected to a Covid-19 advertising campaign targeted at students because it had contained the slogan “don’t take Covid home for Christmas”.
Reports at the time claimed that the officials had held up the plans because they felt it was not “inclusive” enough and risked offending other religious groups.
Meanwhile, it emerged on Wednesday that a Whitehall style guide drawn up for civil servants advises them to avoid using the word “Brexit” and instead refer to “December 31 2020”.
Officials are also told not to use the term “transition period” but instead use the dates during which Britain negotiated its departure from the bloc.