Head of the UK Civil Service refuses to pass information to pro-Brexit Cabinet Ministers

SIR JEREMY Heywood has been called before the Public Administration Committee chaired by a pro-Brexit MP on March 1 to explain why he has issued instructions to members of the civil service to deny access to forthcoming papers on Europe.

As head of the civil service, it is his role to instruct all civil servants on procedural matters and as it is government policy that Britain should remain within the European Union, then all civil servants must support this position when undertaking their work, despite any personal beliefs they may have.

The substance of his guidance therefore is that ministers who are in opposition to this policy should not be given access to government papers on the referendum or EU renegotiations  except for those they had previously seen before ‘coming out’.

Quite understandably, this has infuriated the five cabinet ministers who are pro-Brexit as well as other MPs and in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith made it clear that if he is to be able to undertake his role properly then he needs access to all official documents unless and until he is removed from his position.