Reform UK intends to pass legislation to prosecute civil servants who have knowingly let foreign sex offenders into Britain, if the party forms the next government. Potential sanctions would include the removal of civil servants from their current position on the grounds of ‘gross misconduct’ and being forced to give up their public sector pension.
Nigel Farage's party, which continues to top the polls, has declared that investigations would be carried out by a dedicated police task force, with the support of the National Crime Agency (NCA).
These bold proposals are much needed. While it is important to guard against making sweeping generalisations of every single person in an institution, the civic service has faced accusations of being obstructionist – with some appearing to be unwilling to remain neutral and impartial when it comes to helping the democratically-elected government execute their agenda (especially policies which defy liberal-progressive dogma over matters of immigration and asylum).
Ideological bias, which has the potential to thwart the goals of the government, has no place in the civil service and risks undermining national security and public safety in the UK.
Earlier this year, we had a rare moment of cross-party support, with Labour home secretary Shabana Mahmood expressing her support for a damning report by Nick Timothy (now a Conservative MP) which concluded that “too much time is wasted” within the Home Office on identity politics and other sociopolitical issues.
Mahmood herself declared that the Home Office – the UK’s interior ministry, which is responsible for matters of border security and public safety - was “not yet fit for purpose”.
Nigel Farage is right to crush civil servants who let in sex offenders, but he must go further - Rakib Ehsan | Getty Images
Reform's plans for introducing fresh laws that could result in the criminal prosecution of civil-service officials who knowingly make decisions that risk weakening social order and public safety in the UK (along with sackings and loss of pension entitlement) are certainly a step in the right direction.
But it should not end there – we must acknowledge that the rot is deep and implicates various organs of the British state, which have all too often failed to fulfil their duty of care (which is a legal obligation).
Take, for example, the gross institutional failures surrounding grooming-gang abuses across the country.
The national statutory inquiry into the grooming gangs, which is only being held after the Labour Government was backed into a corner by Baroness Casey’s recommendation to hold one, must be a comprehensive national investigation which examines the degree to which central government, the devolved administrations, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), local councils, police forces, social services, safeguarding teams, NHS trusts, and the wider school system neglected their duty of care and failed to protect some of the most vulnerable members of our society.
This inquiry must not be an establishment stitch-up - there has to be a genuine prospect of the findings of the inquiry resulting in the prosecution of public officials held responsible – both former and serving – or at the very least, being fired from their current role and pension forfeiture.
Whether it is members of the civil service potentially undermining public safety by making reckless decisions over asylum applications or public sector officials turning a blind eye to grooming-gang activity, there must be serious consequences.
Those involved in the anti-terror PREVENT scheme who have declared individuals to be of no risk to the public and have been responsible for discharging them from support, only for these individuals to commit terrorist attacks and horrific atrocities afterwards, also fall into this category.
Catastrophic decision-making over matters of public security and community safety must be punished – apologetic expressions of regret are wholly insufficient in such high-stakes contexts. It is high time that public-sector accountability was restored in modern Britain.
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