In a letter signed by 42 staff from 16 departments, Mr Case was told that gender ideology had become an integral part of the civil service. Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Senior civil servants have warned the Cabinet Secretary of a «woke takeover of Whitehall» that risks «inappropriately» influencing government policy.
Simon Case was told in a letter signed by 42 staff from 16 departments who claim that gender ideology promoted by trans activists has infiltrated the civil service in a «serious breach of impartiality».
It says the concept , according to which “everyone has a gender identity that is more important than their sex” is “regarded as an indisputable fact.”
Employees who dare to express gender-critical views—that is, they believe that there are two gender identities. biological sex, which cannot be changed, suffer «severe harassment» at work and live with «pervasive fear» that they will be victimized, the letter adds.
As a result, the letter says, government activities » is distorted,” and the authors call for “urgent action to ensure the impartiality of public service and respect for religious freedom.”
The head of the Civil Service's HR department met with some of the signatories to discuss their concerns, but the letter — along with extensive evidence of how highly controversial beliefs are being promoted in many Whitehall departments — was leaked to The Telegraph amid complaints that the response was insufficient.
Gender critical beliefs are protected under the Equality Act 2010, which also protects people from discrimination based on gender reassignment. The authors of the letter argue that public service attaches any importance to only one of these rights.
The letter states: “Many of us have experienced some form of professional disadvantage because we do not believe that the concept of gender identity makes sense or that it is more important than sex. Some of us have been through stressful and intrusive industrial disputes.»
Disclosure «should encourage action»
One of the letter's signatories told The Telegraph: «There has been a massive takeover of Whitehall and our most senior officials have swallowed hook, line and sinker.”
The letter says the culture in the civil service is «distorting the work of government in many ways and there are grounds for concern that this may unduly influence government policy.»
Mr Case and Rishi Sunak now face questions about their perceived inability to solve the problem.
Writing in The Telegraph, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former minister for government efficiency, writes that disclosure should spur action by [Mr] Case and, ultimately, the Prime Minister. It is completely unacceptable for the civil service to be politicized in this way.”
Jacob Rees Mogg Puff
Cabinet ministers have long been concerned about bias in the civil service when it comes to gender policy. In 2021, then Equalities Secretary Liz Truss ordered Whitehall departments to quit the charity Stonewall's controversial «diversity champion» scheme following accusations it promoted extreme ideologies.
In turn, the civil service has set a goal to become the most inclusive employer in the UK to «attract, develop and retain a diverse range of talent.»
It is highly unusual for civil servants to write directly to the Cabinet Secretary with their concerns. and what is even more unusual is when such letters become public.
In documents given to The Telegraph show's staff, it was asked to undergo training which said biological men could use female-only services and avoid gender-specific expressions such as the phrase «mum and dad» in some circumstances for fear of offending.
In departments struggling with inflationary pressures and work backlogs caused by the pandemic, government employees are encouraged to spend time taking courses or watching videos promoting LGBT awareness+ «alliance».
In one department, staff shared an online 30 Days of Pride calendar with a different video and article for each day that would take almost six hours to watch and read.
Sir Jacob, who has drawn up plans to curb the behavior, when he was in government, says «a woke culture has entered the soul of the civil service.»
Attempts at reform are being blocked by senior civil servants, he says, adding: «These obstacles and turmoil cannot continue: they are created just to stop democracy from working.”
2409 Civil Service Statistics
Mr Case, who has served three prime ministers since being appointed cabinet secretary and head of the civil service in 2020, delegated the response to the letter to the government's human resources chief.
The letter, which was also sent to all permanent secretaries — the most senior civil servants in each ministry — warns that impartiality, one of the core values of the Civil Service Code, «is being ignored in relation to sex and gender issues.»
Signatories , which includes senior managers, senior lawyers and policy advisers, say: “We are concerned that the widespread inclusion of the concept of ‘gender identity’ in the language and internal policies of the civil service constitutes a serious breach of impartiality.”
They add that public service communications and personnel policies tend to promote a belief system in which everyone has a gender identity that is more important than their sex.
“Not everyone shares this belief, the letter says, that “however, it is often treated as an undeniable fact, and those who disagree are characterized as ignorant or hateful.”
Fear of becoming a victim
Eight of the 42 signatories are anonymous because they believe that revealing their identity “ too dangerous» for their career.
They say the civil service is being «restructured» around an «ideologically driven» belief system, that single-sex institutions are open to everyone on the basis of self-proclaimed gender, and that many civil servants have «experienced some form of professional disadvantage» for asserting that biological sex is more important than gender identity .
The letter states: “Some of us have experienced serious harassment in the workplace; others go to work with the pervasive fear that we will become victims for what we believe in.”
Mr Case is being called on to take action «to ensure that the impartiality of the public service is respected and that religious freedom is respected». rather than allowing «agency policies, training and communications [to] assume that there is only one valid point of view.»
The letter was sent to Case on April 18, and more than two months passed before the signatories received response.
The letter came from Fiona Ryland, the government's chief communications officer, who responded on 30 June. .
multi Profile — work in progress
She said she was «concerned» and took the issue seriously, agreeing that gender critical beliefs were protected under the Equality Act 2010 and should be respected.
She suggested that upcoming guidance on civil service impartiality would «provide greater clarity» and ensure diversity and inclusion training is not biased.
A government source said Ms Ryland met with the letter's signatories after it was sent and the Government's Impartiality Guidance, which focuses on controversial training and policies for civil servants, is in preparation and is expected to will be published by the end of this year.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “The Cabinet Secretary and senior civilian Service Chiefs take the issues raised in the letter seriously.
“Our response outlines how concerns raised by staff are being addressed, including through updated Impartiality Guidance.
“It also says it is important that public servants recognize the diversity of views on these issues.”
It also says it is important for public servants to recognize the diversity of opinion on these issues.”
p>'I am being bullied by the silent majority'
Anonymous
I work as a civil servant in a large government department and am part of what I consider to be the silent majority who are being forced into mass acceptance of gender identity ideology.
Freedom of speech does not exist for those whose personal or religious beliefs conflict with the official narrative reality, nor for women who may have been victims of sexual violence and object to sharing women-only spaces with biological men.
Instead, those who exercise their legally protected right to gender-critical views—the belief that you cannot change your biological sex—are accused of bigotry and hatred; compared to racists; and harass or actively silence them, usually ignoring their views.
Gender ideology, which began through HR networks, which are diversity groups set up by civil servants, and the HR department, has permeated the entire civil service with the connivance or cowardice of senior managers who seem genuinely terrified of the issue.
< p>Even The Women's Network has been replaced by the Gender Equality Network, which promotes the idea that our biological sex is an «identity» rather than a fixed characteristic.
As a result, for the country as a whole, impartiality and objectivity — both core values of public service — are lost and in their place one side of a widely contested social and political issue is presented as fact.
Accusations of misgendering
If the complaint raises concerns about the inclusion of men in groups that have direct relevance to women's biology (such as menopause), dismisses the complainant as incapable of understanding diversity and inclusion, accuses them of dysgenderism, and encourages them to educate themselves by reading approved policies or even receive veiled threats about that they will be reported to their supervisor.
Senior government officials say nothing to challenge the bizarre and offensive ideas that are presented as fact. My guess is that they are as intimidated as anyone else by the expression of a heretical view.
One document aimed at training government officials on how to support transgender employees states: “Part of gender transition is is to live in the gender with which a person identifies. This includes using the facilities they feel suit them, such as toilets and changing rooms.”
There is no recognition, let alone institutional support, for any woman who simply wants privacy from of the opposite sex. or who, as required by her religion, may be required to use premises separate from men, or who may have been sexually assaulted.
The public service makes clear that there is a hierarchy of rights and that gender identity is more important and sex, and faith, and beliefs.
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